


Irresistible

by Xqueenie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Mall AU, Modern Era, Poe and Finn are gay but they don't know it, Ren works for Lush, Rey isn't related to the Skywalkers, Rey works for a clothing store, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:08:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5692315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xqueenie/pseuds/Xqueenie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's infuriating. He's a child. She wishes she'd never met him.</p><p>So why does she feel the need to see him again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tall, Dark, and Shitty

**Author's Note:**

> I have become Star Wars trash. Hello.
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com)   
> [My Twitter](http://twitter.com/XandraQueen)
> 
> Follow me for more writing!

“You need help.”

Rey is all too familiar with the entire routine of greeting a customer--saying hello as if you’ve had one too many coffees this morning, asking if they’re looking for anything specific, and letting them know you’ll be around if they need help. She knows that plastic, artificial way sales associates talk. She’s worked at this mall for almost a year now, she knew how it went. 

But this guy, this-- what did his name tag say? “Kylo”? (The fuck kind of name is that?)-- he had none of that fake pleasantness in his voice. When she looked up at him, his eyes were all over her; scrutinizing. Judging, even. What was his problem?

“I… no, I’m just looking. Thanks.” A little weirded out, she turned back to the shelf she had been scanning.

She came to Lush on the  _ one _ time this month she allowed herself a shopping day. She was treating herself, to reward all the hard work and long hours she’d been putting in at the two jobs she worked. And now, here was this asshole, following her and all but insulting her.

“Your hair is really dry, you ought to try one of our conditioners.”

Rey gave him a look, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she tried to ignore him. But the asshole would not stop following her.

“Seriously,  _ my _ hair is better than yours,” he said, pushing said shiny (fluffy) dark tresses out of his face, “which isn’t saying much, my hair is better than a lot of peoples’.”

Rey couldn’t help a laugh. “Wow, the modesty is just off the charts with you.”

He frowned at her. “Excuse me?”

“You’re excused,” She turned on her heel, raising her eyebrows, “I came in on my one day off this week, just looking for a bath bomb or something. But thanks, for your unwarranted rudeness.”

This seemed to anger him. Good. He didn’t say anything as she gave him a little wave and moved on to pick something out. 

“He sounds like a real dickwad.” Her friend Poe said around a mouthful of sub sandwich.

Rey’s two best friends, Poe and Finn, worked at the same clothing store she did; that was how they met. 

Rey didn’t remember much about her family. Whomever her parents were, they’d abandoned her when she was very little-- she didn’t even know what they looked like. The state had put her into the foster system, and it wasn’t an easy ride at all. Six families she’d been passed on to, and in five of them, she’d had foster siblings she had to defend herself against. She toughened up after the first family, learned how to fend for herself. 

When she had aged out of foster care and her very last foster family couldn’t keep her anymore, she hardly had a place to go. She had this job, but no qualifications for college or anything else, so it wasn’t enough to make any kind of rent with. She lived in a shelter for less than a week before Finn and Poe offered their living room couch. They rejected her refusals, and she found a home with these two wonderful people. She’d never had a real family, but her best friends were even more than that. 

After a little while of living with them, she offered to help pay rent. When they next renewed the lease on their apartment, they listed her as their third roommate, and she had a real home. They even let her have the second bedroom, and they’ve been sleeping in the same bed ever since. Both of them acted as if it’s just a thing bros do, but she wasn’t fooled. 

“He is that and more,” Rey answered, sipping her drink, “You should’ve seen how tight his pants were.”

“Lush is right across the way from our store,” Finn put in, “I’ve seen him before. He was dressed in all black, right?”

Rey nodded. “Yeah. Even his hair.”

“That guy kinda scares me.”

Rey snorted a laugh. “Finn, Poe’s  _ cat  _ scared you yesterday.”

“That’s not funny!” Finn tried to defend himself as his two friends laughed at him. “BB jumped me out of nowhere!”

“It’s alright, buddy, she does that to me too.” Poe laughed, clapping a hand on Finn’s shoulder. Rey tried to hide a grin by taking a bite of her sandwich, but it didn’t get past Poe. “What?”

“What, what?” Rey mumbled around her food.

“You make that face every time Finn and I have some sort of physical contact.”

“It’s nothing,” She said, waving her hand at him, “don’t worry about it.” Oh, it definitely wasn’t nothing. Her two ‘bro’s, were anything but that. They were just shy of being totally gay for each other, and every time they came in contact with each other was another step towards that line between “bromance” and actual romance. 

“Dude, we’ll have to go back on soon,” Finn said, checking his phone, “lunch is almost up.”

“You gonna be okay while we’re gone?” Poe nudged Rey’s arm.

“Yeah, I’m sure I can handle any more tall dark and shitty assholes.” 


	2. He's Back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GODS thank all of you for your lovely thoughts and comments!! Here's chapter 2~
> 
> EDIT (4/12/17): For some reason (I only just noticed?) half of this chapter never got posted. I fixed it.  
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com)  
> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)  
> 

It was a week before she saw Kylo again.

This time, she was working. She and Poe were on the floor, and Finn was in the back doing inventory. It had been a very trying day already-- it was a Saturday, and the mall was flooded with people. Rey was glad the boys were there to help her; no way could she have handled this all on her own. The store was a mess, and she tried desperately to pick things up when there was a lull in customers, but they would still have a lot of work to do when they were closing.

And then,  _ he _ showed up.

Rey didn’t notice it was him at first; she was trying to get some pants hung back up on the rack they belonged on, and only noticed that someone had walked in. Poe was busy helping out someone at the register, so the guy had started to wander over to Rey (who was all but tangled up in a rack of clothes, trying to get them off the floor). 

“I’ll be with you in just a second!” She called to him. 

But he wasn’t going to wait for her. “Do you have this in a bigger size?”

That voice made her finally stop and look, and when she did, she had to hold back a groan. “Oh, it’s you. Kyle?”

“Kylo Ren.” He corrected angrily, looking down at her with that ever-judgemental scowl on his face. “You work here?”

“Yes, I work here,” Rey stood up and hung up the clothes that had been on the floor, then dusted herself off, “Are there no bigger sizes on the rack?”

“No. Check the back.”

Rey didn’t bother holding back an annoyed look. “Yeah, okay.” She mumbled, grabbing the shirt from him to go into “the back”.

“The back” was just a tiny little storeroom where they kept boxes of extra stuff and inventory they hadn’t put out on the shelves yet. There was a tiny little bathroom back there for employees, and an itty-bitty nook with a mini fridge and a table (which couldn’t qualify for a break room even if it wanted to.)

Finn was right where he had been for the last two hours, carefully going through the boxes to make sure they knew what they had. Rey came in past him, and he glanced up at her with a smile.

“Getting rough out there?” He asked.

“No kidding,” Rey sighed, checking the tag on the shirt so she knew what she was looking for, “Tall Dark and Shitty is here.”

“Oh, geez,” Finn said, wincing at her. “Good luck.”

Rey snorted at him. “Thanks. You’re no help.”

“I gotta do inventory!”

“Mmmhm.” She hummed, rolling her eyes as she pawed through a box of shirts, looking for a bigger size. When she found it, she gave Finn a playful whack with the smaller shirt, eliciting an indignant “hey!” from her friend.

By the time she got the new shirt out to him, Kylo was already going through another pile of shirts, making a mess of a table Rey had  _ just _ organized. She tried to keep her cool, extending the new shirt out to him.

“Here’s your bigger size.” 

He hardly glanced at her. He seemed really focused on messing up these shirts, until she cleared her throat and he finally looked at her full-on. 

“Oh. Yeah, I decided I didn’t want that shirt.” He said, as if it wasn’t a huge deal that he just made her go back there for a shirt he didn’t even want.

Rey glared daggers into his back, before going to set the shirts back out. Poe gave her a look when she joined him behind the register.

“You just gonna let him treat you like that?”

Rey groaned, “I just want him out of here as soon as possible.”

It didn’t look like he was leaving anytime soon, but Rey kept her eyes on him as he made his way through the store, making a mess of everything. Every time it looked like he was going to buy something, he would throw it back on the pile and move on with a disgusted look. 

Eventually, he tossed the last possible thing in the store down and walked out in a dramatic huff.

“What is that guy’s problem?” Poe asked as the two of them started to tackle the mess he’d left earlier. “Are his pants a little too tight?”

“Who knows,” Rey replied, “I just hope we don’t have to actually deal with him again.” 

Her hopes were in vain. 

It was eight forty-five at night, and she and the boys were just closing up the store. Her back ached, her feet ached, and her head ached worst of all. Everything hurt, and she would have to collapse into her bed and sleep for the next nine months to get back to feeling okay again.

But who should show up, just as they were closing the store, but the same asshole they had to deal with earlier. He looked just as indifferent to them as he’d looked earlier, but this time, Rey noted that he was wearing some ridiculous black wool coat. He must have been headed home too, but he looked like a villain from Star Trek.

“Please tell me you’re here to apologize for how you acted earlier.” Rey said as he approached the register. He glared at her and ignored her question.

“Are you still open?”

Rey couldn’t believe he was doing this. He worked retail, just like her, he had to know how fucking irritating a question that was. There was no way he didn’t know how much they hated it when a customer came in that late, so why did he think it was okay for him to do it?

“Technically, yeah, but we’re closing up for the night. Can it wait until tomorrow?”

“I don’t work tomorrow.”

_ Thank god _ , she thought back. “Well, then can it wait until-”

“I changed my mind about the shirt.” He interrupted her.

Her smile said  _ ‘of course, let me get it for you’ _ , but her eyes said  _ ‘I’m going to fucking murder you with your own skinny jeans’. _ “...would you like to buy it?”

“Yes. And I’m in a bit of a hurry to get home, so…”

Like she wasn’t? She rolled her eyes as she disappeared into the back, and once again began digging through the boxes. Finn was back at the little break table, having clocked out already and was just waiting for Rey and Poe to close the store to go home. He looked up at her as she grumbled curses to herself.

“Is there seriously a customer this late?” He asked.

Rey groaned. “Yes. The same asshole from earlier.”

“Wait, the guy from Lush?!”

“Yes!”

“...don’t kill him.”

“Thinking about it.”

Finally, she grabbed the shirt and marched back out to the register to ring it up. 

“That’ll be $10.79.” She said, not a scrap of patience left.

To her dismay, instead of pulling out a credit card, Kylo dumped an enormous amount of change on the counter. 

She swore he was smirking as he took his bag, turned away and said: “Keep the change.”

Poe watched him leave, appalled at the level of sheer disrespect this guy had. Rey gripped the edges of the counter, trying to prevent herself from leaping over it and chasing after him to strangle him. Poe locked the doors behind him, and carefully made his way over to the register to begin counting the change. Rey had finally calmed herself down when Poe made a noise of surprise.

“Let me guess,” she growled, “he didn’t pay the full amount.”

“No, he… there’s over $20 in change here.”

Rey looked at him like he’d grown a second head. Poe held up his hands, having no explanation for her.

“Wait, so-”

“It was your sale,” he said, grinning at her as he scooped the change into the register. He then pulled out a $10 bill and handed it to her, “That means this is yours.”

“He… He couldn’t have known how much change there was.”

“Who knows?” Poe grinned at her, patting her on the back, “Let’s just get clocked out and go home.”

 

* * *

 

 

Her shift the next day wasn’t as long as the previous one. She always thanked her lucky stars when her shift was only three or four hours versus seven or eight. Finn wasn’t working today, just her and Poe and two more employees. It wasn’t as crazy as yesterday, but it was still a weekend.

There was a bit of a lull in the middle of the day-- that happened sometimes. Rey was taking a bit of a breather, cleaning up the back room after the amount they had to restock this morning. She was determined to have a better day than yesterday; she felt much better already.

And then, Poe poked his head into the back room. “Rey!”

“What? Need help?” She moved to the door, and he shook his head.

“He’s back.” He nodded to the door, and Rey groaned.

Because there, standing in the doorway, was Tall, Dark, and Shitty.

“I’m not here.” She said, trying to slink back into the back.

“Yes, you are.” Poe took her by the arm and tried to pull her back out.

“Poe-!”

“Jen and Miles are on break! I need you to see what he wants while I help my customer!”

“POE-”

“Face your fears!” He grinned at her as he shoved her in the direction of the newcomer. She shot him a glare as she approached Kylo. He was practically wearing the same thing he wore at work: a black button-up and black skinny jeans, but this time, he’d clipped on a red bow tie (like it made him look less ridiculous).

He’d been watching her the whole time, but hadn’t said anything. He looked her up and down like he wanted to talk, but he didn’t open his mouth. She crossed her arms, trying to remain calm this time.

“Thought you had the day off today?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“...I do.” He muttered.

“...and you decided to wear your work uniform?”

He glanced down at his shirt, then looked away from her. “...this is the one I bought yesterday.”

 _...What?_ She stood in quiet shock for a couple seconds, then cleared her throat and looked away from him. “Um… Can I help you find anything today then?”

He shook his head. “Just looking.”

She nodded and tried not to look like she was hurrying away when she went back behind the counter. Poe had finished with his customer, and was eyeing Kylo.

“...is that the shirt he bought yesterday?”

“Apparently,” Rey replied.

“Did you thank him for the extra money?”

“No?”

“You ought to.”

Rey didn’t reply. Why should she thank him? After how rude he was yesterday, that extra money seemed more like an apology than anything. Hopefully he wouldn’t cause as much trouble today.

He did her one better: he didn’t even talk to her the whole time he was in the store. She helped out different customers, picked things up around the store, had a normal day. Which felt weird after what happened yesterday. A couple times, she’d glance at him, and catch him looking at her. He’d look away just as soon as she did, like he was watching her.

Finally, when she was helping out another customer, she didn’t see him lingering around anymore. She figured he left, and relaxed a little more.

“Let’s get you set up in a fitting room,” Rey said to the customer as she led her over to the three fitting rooms they had. Only one of the rooms had a little metal tag hanging up outside the door, which told her that someone was using it. She tugged at the curtain of the next little stall, and immediately regretted it.

He must have walked in there on his own, because she and her co-workers always made sure to put a tag up to prevent this exact situation. But there she was, opening the curtain on a shirtless Kylo Ren. She froze for about half a second, watching the muscles in his back ripple as he whirled around to face her. “Oh my god!” She shouted as she quickly yanked the curtain shut. She turned her back to the changing stall before she could see his face.

“I’m so sorry!” She called back to him. She quickly put a tag on both of the remaining rooms to make sure that didn’t happen again, then she ran into the back room. Her face was red as a beet. She went to go wash her face in the bathroom sink, and that was where Poe found her five minutes later.

“Rey?” He knocked on the door. When she didn’t answer, he peeked in and found her sitting on the floor with her face in her hands.

“Leave me to diiiiiiie.”

“Come on, Rey, it’s not that bad.”

“It is most definitely that bad.”

“Rey.”

“I’m gonna go crawl into the trash compactor, nice knowing you.”

Poe laughed and extended a hand down to her. “Come on, he’s gone now. Time for you to go back on the floor.”

Rey sighed in relief as Poe pulled her off the bathroom floor and led her back out to the register… where Kylo Ren was waiting for them. Rey nearly screamed, but Poe smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

“Face your fears!” He whispered as he left her to go greet a new customer.

Oh, she was going to kill him. She was red up to her ears, and refused to look Kylo in the face as she rang up the two new shirts he was getting (and remarkably, neither of them were black). Neither of them spoke, and she hoped he wasn’t staring her down.

Finally, she managed to get her voice to work. “Is this… all for you today?”

“Yeah.” Unlike yesterday, he slid a credit card across the counter toward her. She swiped it, and the transaction went through, but when she looked at the card, the name on it wasn’t “Kylo Ren”.

“...this card belongs to a… Benjamin Solo,” she said, finally managing to look up at him, “I thought your name was Kylo Ren?”

He groaned and pulled his driver’s license out of his wallet, holding it up to show her. She squinted at it-- well, that was his picture all right (and it really was true, that literally no one looked good in their driver’s license photo). And sure enough, the name read: SOLO, BENJAMIN LUCAS.

Rey tried so hard not to laugh at him as she handed him the receipt and a pen. “Alright, then, _Ben_ , sign here.”

Oh, if looks could kill. “Do _not_ call me that.”

Rey held up her hands, then bagged his shirts and handed them over. “Sorry, sorry.”

He turned away from her, his gaze lingering for just a second before he exited the store. Rey watched him go, trying in vain not to think of the fact that she now knew what he looked like under that shirt. She swore it was an accident, but her eyes drifted down his back to his ass. It was a nice ass. ... _Stop staring at his ass!_

“I see that.” Rey jumped as Poe appeared next to her, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What?”

“You were staring at his ass!”

“I was not!”

“I mean, I don’t blame you, it’s a nice ass-”

“Poe?”

“Yeeees~?”

“...you are _so_ gay.”

“Hey, at least I didn’t walk in on him changing~”

Poe laughed and dodged the pen she threw at him.


	3. That One Customer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, chapter two~ 
> 
> There are other things I should be doing, but this ship has consumed my life.
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com)  
> [My Twitter](http://twitter.com/XandraQueen)

It was a week before she saw Kylo again.

This time, she was working. She and Poe were on the floor, and Finn was in the back doing inventory. It had been a very trying day already-- it was a Saturday, and the mall was flooded with people. Rey was glad the boys were there to help her; no way could she have handled this all on her own. The store was a mess, and she tried desperately to pick things up when there was a lull in customers, but they would still have a lot of work to do when they were closing.

And then,  _ he _ showed up.

Rey didn’t notice it was him at first; she was trying to get some pants hung back up on the rack they belonged on, and only noticed that someone had walked in. Poe was busy helping out someone at the register, so the guy had started to wander over to Rey (who was all but tangled up in a rack of clothes, trying to get them off the floor). 

“I’ll be with you in just a second!” She called to him. 

But he wasn’t going to wait for her. “Do you have this in a bigger size?”

That voice made her finally stop and look, and when she did, she had to hold back a groan. “Oh, it’s you. Kyle?”

“Kylo Ren.” He corrected angrily, looking down at her with that ever-judgemental scowl on his face. “You work here?”

“Yes, I work here,” Rey stood up and hung up the clothes that had been on the floor, then dusted herself off, “Are there no bigger sizes on the rack?”

“No. Check the back.”

Rey didn’t bother holding back an annoyed look. “Yeah, okay.” She mumbled, grabbing the shirt from him to go into “the back”.

“The back” was just a tiny little storeroom where they kept boxes of extra stuff and inventory they hadn’t put out on the shelves yet. There was a tiny little bathroom back there for employees, and an itty-bitty nook with a mini fridge and a table (which couldn’t qualify for a break room even if it wanted to.)

Finn was right where he had been for the last two hours, carefully going through the boxes to make sure they knew what they had. Rey came in past him, and he glanced up at her with a smile.

“Getting rough out there?” He asked.

“No kidding,” Rey sighed, checking the tag on the shirt so she knew what she was looking for, “Tall Dark and Shitty is here.”

“Oh, geez,” Finn said, wincing at her. “Good luck.”

Rey snorted at him. “Thanks. You’re no help.”

“I gotta do inventory!”

“Mmmhm.” She hummed, rolling her eyes as she pawed through a box of shirts, looking for a bigger size. When she found it, she gave Finn a playful whack with the smaller shirt, eliciting an indignant “hey!” from her friend.

By the time she got the new shirt out to him, Kylo was already going through another pile of shirts, making a mess of a table Rey had  _ just _ organized. She tried to keep her cool, extending the new shirt out to him.

“Here’s your bigger size.” 

He hardly glanced at her. He seemed really focused on messing up these shirts, until she cleared her throat and he finally looked at her full-on. 

“Oh. Yeah, I decided I didn’t want that shirt.” He said, as if it wasn’t a huge deal that he just made her go back there for a shirt he didn’t even want.

Rey glared daggers into his back, before going to set the shirts back out. Poe gave her a look when she joined him behind the register.

“You just gonna let him treat you like that?”

Rey groaned, “I just want him out of here as soon as possible.”

It didn’t look like he was leaving any time soon, but Rey kept her eyes on him as he made his way through the store, making a mess of everything. Every time it looked like he was going to buy something, he would throw it back on the pile and move on with a disgusted look. 

Eventually, he tossed the last possible thing in the store down and walked out in a dramatic huff.

“What is that guy’s problem?” Poe asked as the two of them started to tackle the mess he’d left earlier. “Are his pants a little too tight?”

“Who knows,” Rey replied, “I just hope we don’t have to actually deal with him again.” 

Her hopes were in vain. 

It was eight forty-five at night, and she and the boys were just closing up the store. Her back ached, her feet ached, and her head ached worst of all. Everything hurt, and she would have to collapse into her bed and sleep for the next nine months to get back to feeling okay again.

But who should show up, just as they were closing the store, but the same asshole they had to deal with earlier. He looked just as indifferent to them as he’d looked earlier, but this time, Rey noted that he was wearing some ridiculous black wool coat. He must have been headed home too, but he looked like a villain from Star Trek.

“Please tell me you’re here to apologize for how you acted earlier.” Rey said as he approached the register. He glared at her and ignored her question.

“Are you still open?”

Rey couldn’t believe he was doing this. He worked retail, just like her, he had to know how fucking irritating a question that was. There was no way he didn’t know how much they hated it when a customer came in that late, so why did he think it was okay for him to do it?

“Technically, yeah, but we’re closing up for the night. Can it wait until tomorrow?”

“I don’t work tomorrow.”

_ Thank god _ , she thought back. “Well, then can it wait until-”

“I changed my mind about the shirt.” He interrupted her.

Her smile said  _ ‘of course, let me get it for you’ _ , but her eyes said  _ ‘I’m going to fucking murder you with your own skinny jeans’. _ “...would you like to buy it?”

“Yes. And I’m in a bit of a hurry to get home, so…”

Like she wasn’t? She rolled her eyes as she disappeared into the back, and once again began digging through the boxes. Finn was back at the little break table, having clocked out already and was just waiting for Rey and Poe to close the store to go home. He looked up at her as she grumbled curses to herself.

“Is there seriously a customer this late?” He asked.

Rey groaned. “Yes. The same asshole from earlier.”

“Wait, the guy from Lush?!”

“Yes!”

“...don’t kill him.”

“Thinking about it.”

Finally, she grabbed the shirt and marched back out to the register to ring it up. 

“That’ll be $10.79.” She said, not a scrap of patience left.

To her dismay, instead of pulling out a credit card, Kylo dumped an enormous amount of change on the counter. 

She swore he was smirking as he took his bag, turned away and said: “Keep the change.”

Poe watched him leave, appalled at the level of sheer disrespect this guy had. Rey gripped the edges of the counter, trying to prevent herself from leaping over it and chasing after him to strangle him. Poe locked the doors behind him, and carefully made his way over to the register to begin counting the change. Rey had finally calmed herself down when Poe made a noise of surprise.

“Let me guess,” she growled, “he didn’t pay the full amount.”

“No, he… there’s over $20 in change here.”

Rey looked at him like he’d grown a second head. Poe held up his hands, having no explanation for her.

“Wait, so-”

“It was your sale,” he said, grinning at her as he scooped the change into the register. He then pulled out a $10 bill and handed it to her, “That means this is yours.”

“He… He couldn’t have known how much change there was.”

“Who knows?” Poe grinned at her, patting her on the back, “Let’s just get clocked out and go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Kylo Ren is an asshole... or is he?


	4. Galaxy Wars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all, for the wonderful comments!!! I've never gotten this much love so quickly on a fic! 
> 
> Enjoy Chapter 4 my lovelies~
> 
> EDIT: BY THE WAY!!! This chapter now has [ ART](http://thealeksdemon-art.tumblr.com/post/142004575206/thealeksdemon-its-been-a-long-time-since-ive) By the lovely [thealeksdemon](http://thealeksdemon-art.tumblr.com) on tumblr!!

The next Friday, all three roommates had the night off. And it was just as well, because Poe had gotten them all tickets to go see the most anticipated movie of the year:  _ Galaxy Wars: The Awakening _ . The top floor of the mall was a theater. It was the day of the premiere, and the whole place was packed.

Rey clutched the enormous bucket of popcorn they were all sharing in one hand, and her drink in the other as the three made their way to try and find seats. 

“Dude, it was so lucky you got these tickets,” Finn said, nudging Poe, “this place is packed!”

“Seriously, it’s almost entirely full,” Rey said, “we should have gotten here earlier.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Poe offered an apologetic smile, “I didn’t think dinner would take that long. But hey, look,” he pointed up to the very back of the theater, “those must be the last three seats.”

Among a bunch of nerds in Galaxy Wars t-shirts and even costumes, there were two seats on the very end of the row open, and then one empty seat in the row just above them. Rey sighed. Well, even if her friends refused to admit how gay they were for each other, she knew she was the third wheel here, so she’d have to sit up above them.

“You guys take those two seats,” Rey said, “I’ll take the other one.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah go ahead.” She waved them off as she climbed the last steps to the top row.

The next word out of her mouth was “Motherfucker.”

Because there he was. In his fucking skinny jeans and a fucking black hoodie, one long fucking leg crossed over the other. That fucking asshole. 

“Language,” he chided, raising a black eyebrow at her, “there are children around.”

“Yeah, there’s one sitting in front of me.”

“How am I a child? You’re the one that won’t sit down.”

She glared at him, then looked at his legs. “...can you move, please?”

He seemed to ponder, like it was an option at all. Then he uncrossed his legs, but didn’t make any more effort to move. Rey glared at him, and he gave her a little smirk, gesturing to the tiny bit of space between his knees and the seats in the row in front of them. Since it was obvious he wasn’t going to move any more, she practically had to crawl over him to get to her seat. Once she was seated, he crossed his legs again. She just hoped she didn’t have to go to the bathroom at all during the movie, because she didn’t want to do that again.

“Third Wheel?” He asked her, still smirking.

“All alone?” She shot back at him. He scowled at her and moved his eyes to the screen. 

“I have friends. Down there.” he nodded further down in the theater.

“Sure you do.” 

Kylo slumped in his seat and crossed his arms, locking his eyes on the screen as the theater finally darkened. 

After the previews were finally over, Rey’s bitter disdain for the pouty child she was sitting next to vanished. She loved going to the movies; it immersed her in a world that was far more exciting than our own, even if just for a couple hours. The opening credits, the theme song-- that half the theater was singing along to--it excited her. She also hadn’t been to the movies in a long time; she was too busy, most of the time.  It was an experience, and she was thrilled to be a part of it.

And she was determined to enjoy it no matter what. So she ignored Kylo Ren’s little side comments, and the fact that he kept nudging her foot with his and invading her personal bubble. 

Rey was actually about to punch him when he leaned towards her and gestured to a character on screen. “Look, her chest is almost as flat as yours is.”

She had to grip the armrests to keep from pulverizing him. “Look, if you don’t  _ shut up _ and  _ stop fucking touching me- _ ”

“What? What’ll you do?”

“...I’ll call someone to kick you out.”

“Ha! What a weak threat.”

“Shut. Up.”

“Make. Me.”

They glared at each other, eye-to-eye (and practically nose-to-nose), for a good couple of seconds before Rey got up from her seat. Ren watched her as she crawled over him to get out again, and began marching down the steps. When she glanced back over her shoulder, he was getting up to follow her. 

When they got out of the theater, she practically shoved him into a unisex bathroom-- not at all romantic, but the door locked. No sooner had she locked it than he had her up against the wall, lips clashing and bodies pressed close. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving her better leverage to deepen the kiss. His hands wrapped around her waist, and he only broke the fevered lip-lock to lift her off her feet and set her on the side of the sink. She had no objections; this way, she could wrap all four limbs around him, instead of just her arms.

Why were they doing this? She had no clue. Letting out frustrations? Maybe this want was there the whole time, and it was just coming out now because they’d hit some sort of boiling point? Whatever. She’d rather focus on the actual action of attempting to shove her tongue down his throat than the reason why she was doing it.

And his hands (enormous hands, she noted) were all over her: stroking down her back, gripping her thighs and hips, squeezing her ass-- it was the first time in a long time Rey had felt so many things at once. She was furious, mostly, but also hot and excited. Adrenaline was shooting through her veins, making her heart beat faster and her movements a little bit more desperate. 

When they broke for air, they stopped to look at each other for a second. His pupils were blown, and she hadn’t noticed until now how big his lips were-- it was really cute, actually. His gaze dropped to her neck, and he immediately started pressing wet kisses under her jaw, trailing down to her collar. She dragged her nails lightly against his scalp, tangling them in his thick black hair. He pushed her shirt to the side, so he could get at her neck more easily. 

She gasped when he bit at the junction between her neck and shoulder-- not hard enough to leave a mark, but just hard enough that it snapped her out of whatever daze she was in.

What the hell was she doing?

She pushed him off her, got down from the sink, and ran out of there as fast as her feet would take her.

She got to the theater just as her friends were walking out. Oh god, she hoped she wasn’t blushing as hard as it felt like she was. 

“Rey?” Finn asked, “You okay?”

“I’m,” she cleared her throat, trying to get her voice to sound a little less weak, “I’m fine! I had to pee.”

“Well, you missed the last, like, ten minutes of the movie,” Poe said, tossing the empty popcorn bucket into the nearest trash can. “We’ll have to go again next week so you can see it.”

“Yeah.” Rey just hoped Kylo didn’t have the same idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com)  
>  Follow @XandraQueen on Twitter~


	5. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have some nsfw~
> 
> Don't forget to follow me! [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)

Poe had been giving her weird looks all day.

It had been a week and a half since what happened at the theater, and Rey was just trying to forget it, hoping she wouldn’t run into Kylo Ren at work. They saw the movie again, like they said they would, and Rey thought the whole thing had blown over. But Poe kept giving her these suspicious looks. Finally, she couldn’t take it.

“What?” She snapped at him, exasperated.

“You’re hiding something.” Poe said, leaning on the counter, “Spill it.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Rey tried her damnedest to sound nonchalant. She shifted her position on the couch, leaning her arm on the back while her legs curled under her. Poe’s cat hopped up next to her, flicking her tail and looking at her curiously. 

“Something happened at the theater, didn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rey turned her attention to BB-8, and the fat kitten rolled over for a belly rub. “I just had to pee. I’m ticked that I missed the end, but we’ll go see it again next week.”

“Rey,” Poe said, shaking his head, “ _ nobody _ takes fifteen minutes to pee.”

“What if I had to put in a tampon?”

“Rey.”

“Or what if I was checking my phone?”

“ _ Rey _ . Tell me what happened. You know you’re a horrible liar.”

“Nothing happened!” Rey took her attention away from BB-8 for two seconds before the one-eyed tabby batted her on the head with her clawless paw, as if she was saying  _ “who told you you could stop petting me?” _

“You walked out of the theater, and then that Kylo Ren guy followed you. Fifteen minutes later, you come back, hair mussed and face flushed, and say you had to go to the bathroom.”

“...Nothing happened.”

“Please tell me he used a condom.”

_ “POE!” _

“What?!” He laughed as she threw a pillow at him, “Ow! Look, I don’t care who you bang in movie theater bathrooms, Rey, as long as you play it safe!”

“I. Didn’t.  _ Sleep _ . With. Him.”

“....but?”

Rey looked back to BB-8, who was wriggling for more belly rubs. She shrugged as she focused on petting the cat. “...we might’ve… made out a little.”

“I knew it.”

Rey turned bright red. “Shut up! It didn’t mean anything, we were just-”

“-venting sexual tension?”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too~”

Thank God, Finn finally showed up, so she didn’t have to talk about this anymore. He kicked off his work shoes and set his keys down, looking at the both of them. They were both staring at him, and he could feel that he’d interrupted something.

“What? What’s going on, guys?” He asked. BB-8 hopped off the couch and went to go greet him, rubbing up against his legs.

“Nothing!” Rey blurted before Poe could say anything. “Poe was just about to get us some pizza.”

No more explaining. Finn accepted it, although Poe looked like he wanted to tell him. Rey gave him a look behind Finn’s back and mouthed “I’ll kill you”, and he held up his hands in surrender. 

Just then, Poe’s phone rang. Rey got up from the couch and went into her room, letting her hair down from its usual bun. She tuned out Poe’s phone conversation, and when he hung up, she called into the other room: “Who was that?”

“Buddy of mine from college,” Poe answered, “they’re having a party for a mutual friend’s birthday. He asked if I wanted to come.”

“What did you tell him?” Finn asked.

“I told him it depends.” Poe grinned, looking back and forth between the two of them. “You guys wanna go to a party?”

 

*          *          *

 

Rey didn’t think there would be anyone she knew at this party, so she dressed up.

She hardly ever dressed up, and whenever she did, it was mostly because of requirement. But for once, she put on makeup because she wanted to. She chose her darkest lipstick because-- what the hell, it looked good. She might have only put on a pair of jeans and a white button-up, and her hair might’ve just been tucked into a messy bun on the top of her head, but she considered it dressy enough. It wasn’t like she was going to meet anyone who would judge her, right?

Wrong.

Sure, she met Poe’s old friends from college, and was happy to make their acquaintance. The little loft apartment was dark except for some party lights and colorful lamps, and dance music was blasting from the speakers in the main room. Other people were drinking, dancing, making fools of themselves, and Rey was happy just sipping a soda and watching them. She was particularly enjoying her two roommates dancing like idiots, when a voice to her right made her nearly jump out of her skin.

“You look nice.”

Fuck. Here too? Why did he have to be literally everywhere she went when she was trying to enjoy herself?

She slowly turned to look at Kylo Ren, then cast her eyes down and took a drink. Maybe she ought to switch to something stronger. “...thank you.”

They stood in silence for a minute, and Rey really wanted to bolt. Kylo seemed to be searching for something to say.

Finally, he spoke again. “Can I get you a drink?”

Rey held up her soda can. “I have one.” 

Silence, once again. Now she  _ really _ wanted to leave. Come on, Poe, Finn, someone get me out of here!

He moved closer to her, and the fact that he was more than a whole head taller than her made it seem like he was looming over her. “Look, about what happened-”

“Okay!” She interrupted, moving away from him. “I’m not doing this right now. Nope.” She hurried away, tossing her can in the trash and slipping out onto the balcony. It was cold as shit outside, but she needed to get away from him.

It didn’t work, because he followed her right out and shut the patio door behind him. “Let me explain!”

“There’s nothing to explain!” She said, hugging her arms to preserve her body heat. “It happened, it’s over, now let’s move on and pretend it didn’t happen at all.”

He scowled at her. “It was your idea. You were the one that started it.”

“It doesn’t matter who started it,” she said, turning to face him, “I’m ending it. I don’t even know why I did it.”

“...I liked it.” He didn’t seem as nervous as she was. He was still, not bothered by the cold, and staring intensely at her. For some reason, she found herself unable to lie to him.

“I… I did too, but…” 

“But what?”

She sighed and shook her head, and when she didn’t answer, he stepped closer, looming over her again. 

“But  _ what? _ ” He repeated.

“But  _ you! _ ” she blurted finally, “You’ve been nothing less than a complete  _ asshole _ from the moment I first met you! I don’t _ like _ you! I don’t like pompous, self-centered douchebags! After that first day when you insulted my hair, I wanted to strangle you. Everything you do and say to me is so fucking infuriating and for some unknown bloody reason it makes me want to  _ throw you down and fucking mount you!” _

He stood there, blinking, mouth partially open, trying to comprehend the last part of her statement. She froze as well, not entirely understanding what the fuck had just come out of her mouth. In the next second, he was on her: hands on her sides, lips engulfing hers. She kissed him back right away, gripping his neck like it was a lifeline. 

This time, their encounter didn’t last as long. He pulled back, pressed their foreheads together, and mumbled, “Come home with me.”

Rey nipped his lip, then replied. “Not so fast, tiger.”

“Hm?” He hummed, kissing her jaw.

“I don’t wanna rush this,” she said, pulling back a little bit, “why don’t we get that drink first?”

He nodded, looking a little sheepish, but he managed a little smile. “And a dance?”

She grinned and took his hand. “And a dance.”

Back inside, Rey wove through the small crowd of people with Kylo in tow, trying to find the drink table. Poe was over by the same table, munching on some food. She hated admitting he was right, but she would do it with dignity. Poe raised his eyebrows when he saw Ren behind her, and grinned smugly as he wrapped her in a side hug.

“Hey!” He greeted, “Having fun?”

“Yeah!” she said, “I’m gonna dance a little, but we need drinks first.” she hugged him back, and then ducked under his arm to pour a decent amount of punch for her and Ren. She handed one to him, and he took just a little sip while she downed hers in a few gulps. She glanced at Poe as she went back for a second cup, and he was looking at her like she’d grown a second head.

“What?” She said, “It’s just punch!”

“Yeah,  _ spiked  _ punch!” Poe gaped as she downed another drink and set the cup down.

“I know!” She replied, once again grabbing Kylo’s hand. He shrugged at Poe and held his drink up in a little salute before setting it down and following Rey out onto the dance floor.

She wasn’t drunk. It took more than two watered-down drinks to get her even mildly impaired. But it was enough to get her to let loose a little bit. The stereo was blasting some song she didn’t really know, but she tried to get into the rhythm anyway. 

She felt Kylo’s hands wrap around her waist, and she moved a bit closer to him as she rocked her hips to the beat. He didn’t seem to know quite what to do; she pulled him down for a quick kiss and murmured:

“What’re you waiting for?” She grinned at him, “You were the one that wanted to dance!”

“I should’ve learned how to dance first,” he grumbled.

“Well, stop  _ thinking _ about it and just do it!”

“But-”

“Shut up and dance with me!” She laughed and held onto his shoulders as she started moving again. His hesitation seemed to burn up as their bodies pressed together, and they finally moved as one. 

For one fleeting moment, Rey really hoped her friends weren’t seeing this. But then she turned around and pressed her ass into Ren’s groin. She felt him shudder as he took hold of her hips and started rocking against her in time with the music. Smirking, she moved in sync with him, pressing her back against his chest.

She could feel him getting hard through both of their jeans, but for some reason, she didn’t want to pull back. He did, though, muttering something about needing to use the restroom. She gave him a look like she saw through that-- obviously, she had been pressed so tightly against him there was no way she couldn’t have noticed--then made a move to follow him off the floor.

The bathroom door shut and locked behind them, and Rey laughed.

“Deja vu, huh?” 

She giggled as he pulled her in for a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss. She kissed back with fervor, reaching her hand between them to cup him through his jeans. 

“Except, this time,” she mumbled against his lips, “I won’t just leave you like this.”

Groaning, Kylo had to lean back against the wall and hold onto the sink for support. Rey rubbed him a couple more times, grinning and watching his facial expressions change. Then, she turned around and began to mimic what she’d been doing on the dance floor-- but harder. Moans filled the tiny room, nearly drowned out by the volume of the music outside. Rey gasped when his hands hiked up her shirt, and let out a sigh when one of them slid past her waistband.

“Too fast, eh?” He growled into her ear. “Who’s moving too fast now?”

“Say the word and I’ll stop,” she mumbled back, smirking as he kissed and bit at her neck. 

“Don’t you dare.” He chuckled, breaking off into a long, low moan as he ground his erection against her. She grinned and reached back to run her fingers through his hair, gasping when his hand, not restricted by any variation of denial from her, slipped under her panties to press at her clit. 

They rocked back and forth for a while, changing pace, moans increasing in frequency and pitch. He’d slipped a finger inside when she felt him tense up, cry out, and then relax. If the growing wetness pressing up against her backside was any indication, he’d reached his climax already. But he didn’t let up; instead he dragged a merciless finger across her sex, circling the bundle of nerves and working her closer to her finish as well. She moaned and rutted against him, listening to him hum pleasurably in her ear. It didn’t take much, before she was sucking in a surprised breath and letting out a high-pitched whine as her orgasm rolled over her.

They stayed there for a moment, pressed up against each other, panting and basking in the euphoric glow. When Rey felt her muscles regain some of their strength, she turned around and planted a sloppy kiss on him.

“Better than last time?” She murmured.

He chuckled and kissed her back. “Hopefully not better than next time.”

“Next time.” She mused, smirking. Then, she leaned around him to fix herself up in the mirror. “Can you keep your cool until then?”

“I think so. I’m a big boy.”

“Yeah, I felt that,” She laughed and straightened her clothes out. “I’m going back out. Just act casual, okay?”

“If I act casual, it might seem suspicious. Your friends think we hate each other.”

“Okay, then act like we hate each other.” She chuckled.

“Okay. I hate you.” He didn’t sound like he hated her at all.

“I know.” She grinned, slipping out the bathroom door. He watched her go, then cleared his throat and got to the task of cleaning himself up.


	6. Where are we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey and Kylo try to figure out the exact nature of their relationship, and Queenie stalls the actual sex scene once again.
> 
> Don't forget to follow me! [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)

“Hey Rey, your boyfriend is here.”

They were at work. It was the day after the party, and she didn’t feel the need to tell her friends what happened in the bathroom. Poe knew. Poe always knew. Finn took a little longer to figure it out, but once he caught on, he teased her more than Poe did. 

“Finn, he is  _ not _ my boyfriend.” Rey rolled her eyes at him.

“Yet.” Poe grinned at her across the counter. He ducked away as Kylo approached the counter, and before Rey could stab him with her pen.

“Rey.” Kylo greeted, leaning his elbows on the counter probably trying to act casual and looking kind of awkward in the process.

“Asshole.” She greeted back, trying to keep up appearances. A little flash of anger crossed his face, but he quickly caught on and brushed it off.

“You’re skinnier than a twig,” He jabbed back, “Have you even eaten at all today?”

“Haven’t had my lunch break yet, dick.”

“You should. At that little pizza place over by Macy’s.”

Rey quirked an eyebrow at him. That statement wasn’t as sharp as usual. “Rizzo’s? Yeah, I’ve been there before.”

“You like it?”

“...yeah.”

“Me too. You should go, then.”

He gave her a look like he wanted her to pick up on something. It took her a second, then it clicked.

“Are you… going to be there too?”

“Maybe,” He said, looking her up and down, “Maybe not. I’m on break too, but I can go wherever I want.”

A date. He was trying to discreetly ask her to have lunch with him. She allowed herself a small laugh and rolled her eyes. “Well, I might just be in the mood for pizza now.”

“Good.” He tried to put on a scowl, but she could see a smile hidden in his eyes. He didn’t say anything else, just stood up and left the store, trying to look nonchalant. Rey smiled amusedly after him and waved Finn over.

“Hey, I’m gonna go on my break. Want me to bring you guys back a slice from Rizzo’s?” She asked.

Finn grinned at her. “Gonna go to lunch with your  _ boyfrieeend _ ~?”

“Kylo Ren is not my boyfriend!” She shouted at him as she grabbed her wallet and headed out of the store.

Rizzo’s was packed with people. Well, it  _ was _ lunchtime, after all. Upon looking around, Rey found Kylo sitting at a booth in the back, trying to look discreet despite his huge frame. She slipped into the seat opposite him, leaning on the table. Neither of them spoke at first; Rey wasn’t really sure what to say. She hadn’t been on a date in a while-- and she wasn’t really sure how she felt about this one.

“...I ordered you a Coke.” He said finally.

She cocked her head slightly. “How’d you know I liked Coke?”

“At the party,” he mumbled, his voice hardly loud enough to hear over the noise in the restaurant, “you were drinking a Coke at first.”

“Hm,” she hummed, memories from the party flashing through her mind. “Yeah, about last night...”

He shifted, casting his eyes away from her. “...what about last night?” He almost looked… uncomfortable. Rey wondered what that was about.

“Well… how do you feel about it?”

“Just… sort of weird,” he glanced at her quickly, then started picking at his napkin. “I don’t usually do that sort of thing. What about you?”

Rey shook her head. “Me either. I’m not… big on relationships.” Well, that sounded better than ‘I’ve never been in a healthy and/or stable romantic relationship in my entire life’.

“Me either.” He mumbled.

They were quiet for a little bit more, until the waitress came back asking them what they’d like to eat. They ordered a slice each, even though Rey wasn’t sure she felt up to eating. It wasn’t until after their slices arrived at the table that they started speaking again.

“So…” She began, picking a pepperoni off her pizza and nibbling on it. “How do we play this?”

He swallowed his mouthful of food, and his eyes trailed over her once before he responded. “Dunno.”

Rey paused before she posed her next question. She actually couldn’t place exactly how she felt about him. It wasn’t as if she really hated him; but he hadn’t exactly made efforts to make her like him. He was definitely  _ very _ attractive, and maybe that was the reason that something in her head blurred the line between frustration and sexual desire. 

_ Okay, what do you want? Do you just want to fuck him, or is there something else there?  _ She tried not to sigh audibly as she busied herself with trying to eat her pizza, all the while labouring over what to make of their current relationship. (If one could even call it a relationship, that is.)

“If it would make it easier,” he said, jarring her out of her thoughts, “we could just… go with it.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “ ‘Just go with it’? That’s the best you can do?”

He shrugged. “I’m just saying we don’t have to make it overly complicated, that’s all.”

Rey contemplated that for a moment. He was right, they really didn’t have to think too much about it. They were both grown-ups, they could handle it, couldn’t they?

“I guess you’re right,” she mumbled around a mouthful of pizza, “So what’s the next step, then?”

“If you’re alright with it,” she could hardly register his voice over the white noise in the restaurant, “I’d really like to take you home.”

She snorted a laugh. “You want to drive me home? That’s all, just give me a ride? Alright, that’s fine-”

He chuckled at her. “No, Rey. Not just a ride home.”

It took her a second, but she finally got it. “... _ oh _ .”

“If that’s alright with you,” oh gods, the look he was giving her was downright sinful. “Feel free to say no if it’s too soon-”

“No, that’s…” Her tongue was practically paralyzed. “That’s alright. Tonight, you mean?”

He nodded. “When are you off?”

“I’m closing tonight.”

Her statement made him quirk an eyebrow, and she wondered what exactly he was thinking about. “Just you?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“...you’ll see.”

*          *          *

When she told her friends that Kylo was going to drive her home, she very much expected the reactions she got. 

“He’s going to drive you home,” Poe repeated, “Now, is that before or after you two bang your brains out in the dressing room?”

“Ew, Poe!”

“What!” Her friend laughed, “I doubt it’d be the first time someone did that.”

“Rey,” Finn had been joking about her relationship with Kylo before, but now he just looked concerned, “I wouldn’t trust him that much, you don’t really know him all that well-”

“Calm down, Mother Hen,” Rey chuckled, “I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, bud, she’ll be safe,” Poe leaned his elbow on Rey’s shoulder, “She knows how to use a condom, right?”

“Poe Dameron, I will  _ beat _ you so hard-”

“Alright, alright, you two,” Finn said, “Rey, I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“And I’m telling you not to worry,” Rey said, “I know what I’m doing.”

It took a lot of convincing, but she finally got the boys to leave at the end of their shifts. It was almost closing time when Kylo showed up again, and Rey paused in counting the money from the register.

“Hey,” she greeted nonchalantly, “I’m almost ready to close up. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I do my closing work?”

The only noise that left his throat was a soft hum, before he was leaning over the counter to kiss and nip at her neck. Surprised at the sudden movement, she gasped and dropped the stack of dollar bills she had been counting. He pulled back, chuckling and eyeing her.

“Hey!” She said, trying to gather all the money back up. “Let me do my work first, then we can get to... that!” 

“No, no, don’t mind me,” he rumbled, slipping behind the counter. He hooked his arms around her waist and nibbled on her ear as he continued: “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Rey’s face must have been redder than a beet. The mall wasn’t entirely closed yet; there were still people wandering around somewhere, people that could walk by and see them there, in a very compromising situation. And yet, she attempted to continue counting cash while Kylo Ren was all but devouring her neck.

He stopped abruptly, and Rey made a small noise of protest.

“...is that security camera on?”

Rey snorted a small laugh as she finished counting. “Stupid thing got busted a month ago. They haven’t gotten a replacement yet.”

“ _ Good. _ ”  _ Jesus fucking Christ _ . She had no words to fully describe the intense tone his voice took on, but the way it came out like a breathy growl sent an electric shock down her spine. He moved his hands to the counter, caging her in and pressing up against her ass like they had been not twenty-four hours before.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he purred in her ear, “since last night, in fact.”

“Yeah?” She mumbled back, turning to loop her arms around his neck and press her thigh between his legs. “And what were you thinking?”

“Oh, about everything.” He smirked as he pressed kisses right on her pulse point. “How you were moaning for me, how perfect you looked when you came… How I can make you feel even better when I get you home tonight…”

Rey’s eyes went wide. “Kylo-”

“Yes, I’ll-”

“No, shit, get down!” 

He’d really underestimated how strong she actually was. The next thing he knew, he’d been shoved underneath the counter, and Rey was now standing over him, smiling shallowly at something he couldn’t see.

“Hi,” she said, in that fake tone she used with customers, “Can I help you?”

“Are you guys still open?” Came a second voice from the other side of the counter. Ren had to hold back a laugh. He hated assholes like this that came in at the last second. Poor Rey.

“Well, we close at 8, and it’s 7:54, so-”

“Oh, good! You are! Okay, I’ll be quick!”

He grinned at looked up at the girl he was about to take home… who was wearing a convenient little dress with a loose enough skirt that he could see her cute little lacy panties.

...hm. 

Rey had to hold back a surprised gasp when she felt Kylo tuck his head between her legs. She had a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the counter, and her eyes trained on the late customer as she made her way through the racks. There was no way to communicate with the man now pulling her underwear aside without alerting the customer to his presence. It was all Rey could do to keep from making noise as Kylo pressed his tongue flat against her wet folds.

It was nerve-wracking, but this idiot still roaming the store didn’t seem to notice them at all. It was when the woman started making her way up to the register that Rey really tried to push Kylo off. He didn’t let up.

“Will, uh… that be all today?”  _ Oh God, please don’t let my voice be husky. _

“Yeah, I think so!” How the fuck was this lady still so oblivious?

Rey didn’t say anything else, just scanned the items as quickly as she could, hoping the lady didn’t notice how badly her hands were shaking. She nearly sighed in relief when the lady handed her a credit card. She swiped it, the lady signed for it, and then Rey stuffed the clothes into a bag.

“Have a nice night!” It came out squeaky, but the lady still didn’t grow suspicious. She gave Rey a polite smile and walked out of the store. Rey didn’t move until she’d disappeared entirely from view of the store.

“Kylo Ren,  _ I am going to fucking kill you. _ ”

He didn’t say anything, just gave her an especially hard flick with his tongue, making her yelp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I mean........ who doesn't wanna be eaten out by Kylo Ren/Adam Driver behind a store counter, right???
> 
> ...I'm going to hell.


	7. The Moment You All Have Been Waiting For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so very very sorry that I haven't updated sooner! My job keeps me busy most of the time, and I'm also trying to move into an apartment. 
> 
> That being said, thank you guys SO MUCH for all your wonderful feedback!! I literally get SO excited when I see an email saying someone left a comment on one of my stories! You guys seriously help me keep going; you give me so much faith that if I keep writing, people will like my stories. I'm trying to finish a novel to get published, and I can only hope some of you guys like my writing well enough to follow my original works too!
> 
> Okay, sorry for getting all emotional. Here, have your garbage chapter at last!

As it turned out, Kylo didn’t live that far from her apartment. It was hardly the nicest apartment complex, but he lived alone, so that was a plus. She didn’t get to see much of it, though.

As soon as the door shut and locked behind them, they were at it again. Her hands in his hair, him fumbling with the buttons on her shirt. They were clumsily making their way towards his bedroom, trying to make out and undress at the same time and leaving a trail of clothes in their wake. Somewhere along the way, she lost her buns. He didn’t even bother to shut the bedroom door.

He was so much bigger than she was, but damn if she didn’t take charge. Once they had stripped down to their underwear, she gave him a good shove onto the bed. He laughed and sat, grinning at her as she climbed over him to straddle his lap. His hands came to rest on her waist, and despite the cold, they were so warm they made her shiver. She kissed him again, this time slow and languid instead of hurried and desperate. She could very easily feel how hard he was getting through the thin fabric of his boxers; she smirked as she rolled her hips down on him, making him moan into the kiss. 

It was almost like a rush of power, having this much control over him. What she’d said earlier? She hadn’t been lying. He frustrated her to no end. He was an asshole. But right now, he could only be thinking about her. Getting hard for  _ her _ . It was definitely an ego boost she so needed.

They kissed again, and she reached back to unclasp her bra, letting her breasts fall free as she tossed it to the side. She didn’t even have time to consider doing anything else before he dipped his head and began lapping at one nipple, rolling his thumb over the other. She moaned shamelessly, carding her hands through his hair. He suckled one for a bit, then moved to the other. 

Without warning, he had the two of them flipped, with Rey on her back underneath him. Before she could chide him for moving too quickly, he slunk down between her knees and started tugging at her panties. It took her all of two seconds to understand what he was going for, and damn, she had to appreciate him taking the initiative.

Panties now gone, she parted her legs, watching as he planted gentle kisses on her inner thigh, trailing upwards. Her head fell back on the bed when his lips brushed her heat, and a pitiful whimper left her throat when his tongue darted out to taste her. He was only using the gentlest little touches, but he was driving her absolutely fucking insane-- which seemed to be his specialty, no matter what the situation was.

She moaned as his tongue rubbed at her clit, and a finger teased her entrance. She was practically dripping wet at this point, so his finger slid in with ease. His movements were agonizingly slow, but were still pushing her closer to the edge. She had one arm thrown up over her head, and her other hand tangled in dark hair. 

“Fuck, you’re good at this,” she breathed out, glancing down at him. He only smirked up at her as he pressed his tongue flat against her, pressing against her little bundle of nerves. Her back arched, and she let out a strangled, high-pitched moan. 

He added a second finger, and his movements sped up. Her moans became more breathy, more frequent, as she got closer to her peak. It was his third finger, curled upwards inside her and hitting her g-spot, combined with the flicking movements of his tongue, that sent her sprawling over the edge.

“Shit,” she whispered, the rush of her orgasm turning into a euphoric glow. “You sure know how to treat a girl.”

“I try.” He smirked at her, leaning over her to peck her lips. He rolled off the bed for just a second, and she looked him over hungrily as he dug through his side drawer. Next thing she knew, the boxers were gone, and he was tearing at a condom wrapper. When he turned back to her and started rolling it on, she swallowed hard.

“You could poke an eye out with that thing.”

He laughed and crawled back over her. “Let’s hope not.” She grinned and pulled him down for a kiss as he started lining up. Her nails dug into the meat of his shoulders and her mouth fell open in a silent gasp as he slowly started pushing himself in. He shuddered and uttered a low moan as he sank in to the hilt. 

“Fuuuck,” he groaned, leaning over her to press his face into her neck, “beautiful… so beautiful…”

The air left her lungs. All the things he could’ve said at that moment, and she wasn’t expecting that. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in as close as she could. 

“Come on,” she murmured into his ear, “Move~” 

He pulled back to look her in the eye, then he kissed her deeply as he began a slow, steady pace. Her eyelids fluttered closed at the feeling of that long-awaited, delicious friction. 

But after a few thrusts, she looked up at him, and he was still holding back. Trying to restrain himself, to not hurt her. She gripped the back of his neck and leaned up to kiss him, pleading.

“Don’t hold back,” she whispered against his lips, “I want all you’ve got.”

“I d-... I don’t-” He stuttered, trying to put the words together.

This time, she smirked and leaned up to his ear. “I’m not made of glass, Kylo Ren,” she purred, “ _ Fuck me~ _ ”

“Oh,  _ fuck _ ,” He groaned, peeling her arms from around his neck and pinning them above her head, “well, since you asked so nicely~” His hands then moved to her hips, and he shifted onto his knees to get a better angle as he started thrusting harder. 

Rey gasped and moaned, feebly trying to buck her hips up. In the beginning, she’d taken control, but with her last request, she’d ceded all of it over to him. 

And he was an  _ animal _ . Growling, panting, mumbling curses as he fucked her into oblivion. He leaned over her to kiss her again, trying to keep his hips moving in circles. He finally nailed her in just the right spot, and she screamed as she dug her nails into his shoulders. He grinned and bit into her neck as he kept that same angle, pushing her unbearably close to climax. She clawed his back, arching as he sent her over the edge with one final scream that somewhat resembled his name.

“ _ Rey _ ,” he growled in her ear as he came, still gripping one of her hips in his hand.

They stayed still for a moment, panting and trying to regain themselves, until he pulled out and got rid of the used rubber. Rey pushed her hair out of her face and curled onto her side, and he flopped down beside her, laying on his side to face her.

“You’re amazing.” he mumbled, taking one of her hands and kissing her fingertips.

Rey chuckled and snuggled up to him. “You’re one to talk.” She closed her eyes, the euphoria from her orgasm starting to make her sleepy.

“...Rey?”

“Mmhm?”

He nuzzled into her hair, pausing before he spoke again. “This won’t be just one time, will it?”

Rey laughed, albeit softly. “After all that? Fuck no.”

Kylo laughed.

 

* * *

 

 

Rey woke in the morning to the sound of her phone ringing. Mostly half asleep, she slid out of bed and started fumbling around in the mixed pile of clothing for the buzzing cell.

_ POE DAMERON _ , the caller ID read. God dammit.

“Hello?” She answered, voice hoarse from her sleep.

_ “Congrats on the sex!” _

“...I’m hanging up.” And she did. 

She was crawling back into bed next to a sleeping Kylo when Poe called her again. 

_ “Did you seriously just hang up on me?”  _ He asked when she answered again.

“I dunno,” she said, closing her eyes, “did it sound like this?” And again, she hung up on him.

The third time he called her, she wanted to just let it go to voicemail. On the third buzz, Kylo groaned into the pillow next to her.

“Shut it ooooooooooofff.” He grumbled, throwing an arm across her bare chest.

“I can’t, he might actually be worried.” She sighed as she answered for a third time, “ _ What, _ Poe?”

_ “I’m just checking up on you, girl. Damn. Why you gotta be so rude?” _

“Because I’m tired, it’s-” she checked the clock on Kylo’s nightstand, “Jesus Fuck, it’s eight A.M., Poe Dameron! Why the hell are you calling me at eight A. M.?!”

_ “Beeecause I’m making sure you’re being a responsible adult,” _ he chuckled, amused at his own sass.  _ “You gonna come home at all today?” _

“Hang up on him again.” Kylo groaned.

Rey nudged him as she answered Poe: “I’ve got the day off today, I technically don’t have to.”

At that, Kylo lifted  his head to look at her. She winked at him.

_ “Alright, well. Be safe. Use protection.” _

“You too.”

_ “B- wait, what do I need it for?” _

“Oh, you’re right, you’re clean and Finn’s a virgin.”

_ “I- WHAT-” _

“Bye, Poe!” She cackled to herself as she hung up and tossed her phone back onto her jeans on the floor. Ren hugged her from behind, burying his face in her back.

“All day, huh?”

“Yep, all day.” Then, she squealed as he all but tackled her.

Two hurried rounds later, they’d finally managed to find the motivation to get out of bed, if only for their grumbling bellies. The only article of clothing Rey was wearing that actually belonged to her was her underwear; for some reason she liked how big his shirts were on her. She’d grabbed one off his floor at random and put it on, and turned around when he started laughing.

“What?” She furrowed her eyebrows at him.

“That’s the-” he said between bouts of laughter, “That’s the shirt I bought from you!”

She barked a laugh as she buttoned it shut. “Never thought you’d see me wearing it, eh~?”

“I did not.” He smiled up at her, stroking her hips and pulling her closer. She grinned and pushed his hair back, playing with it.

Their moment was interrupted when a knock came at the front door. Kylo stood from the bed, frowning as he looked toward the door. He quickly kissed her head and quickly yanked on a pair of pants and another of his shirts to go answer it.

Rey had just begun to pull her hair back into its usual buns when she heard: “What the fuck are  _ you _ doing here?”

“I’m here to check up on you, Ben. See how you’re doing.”

Ben? She thought he hated that name. She poked her head out of the bedroom to see Ren, arms crossed and glaring at the guy who’d basically let himself in. He was an older man, but he wore it well. Silvery gray hair cropped short, a brown leather jacket-- kinda scruffy-looking, if you asked her. The man’s attention changed to her, before he turned back to Ren with a smirk.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company.”

Rey felt heat creep into her cheeks, and she looked to Kylo for help. She only just realized that maybe she ought to have put on pants. 

“Yeah, I have company,” Kylo shot back, “so could you leave?”

But Scruffy Guy had already crossed to her and held out his hand for her to shake. “Han Solo, pleasure to meet you. It’s not often that Ben actually has a girl over.”

“DAD.”

Ah, that was it. Solo, that was the name that was on Ren’s license; his real name. This was his father-- and now that she knew, it wasn’t that hard to see similarities in their looks. It was actually kind of cute how flustered Kylo was getting, so Rey tried to play it cool.

“I’m Rey,” she said as she shook Han’s hand, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Solo.”

Han looked a little put off at that, “Please, don’t call me that. My father-in-law calls me that. Call me Han.”

“How about she calls you  _ gone _ ,” Kylo growled, “I’m an adult now, father, you can’t just barge into my apartment unannounced!”

“Relax, Drama Queen,” Han said, setting his hands on his hips, “your mother sent me. She wants to know if and when we’re gonna hear from you in the next decade.”

“I’ve been a little busy! I have a life, you know.”

Han chuckled and gestured to Rey. “I can see that.”

“Can you  _ not?! _ ”

“Call your mother!” Han said as he started back towards the door. “You’re not too old to give us an update on how your life is going once in a blue moon.”

“Get  _ out!” _ Sort of a moot request, as Han was already out the door, throwing a wave at them without looking back.

Kylo slammed the door and put his hands on his head, letting out an irritated sigh.

“...your dad seems nice.”

“I hate him.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “You don’t hate him.”

“I hate him!”

“How can you hate your dad? If I knew who my-” She cleared her throat. Now was not the time for sob stories, Rey. She sighed, “Never mind. Let’s forget about our issues for now-- what are we gonna do today?”

Kylo looked like he wanted to ask her what she was going to say, but he must have come to the same conclusion she had: now wasn’t the time to dump their baggage on one another. He paused a second, before clearing his throat and speaking again. “Well… I don’t know what you feel like doing.”

She shrugged, smiling a little. “Anything.”

“...I still haven’t seen the end of that movie.”

Rey grinned, “Galaxy Wars?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s do that then-- let me just put my jeans on.”

“Awww.” She stuck her tongue at him and went to go finish dressing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, just a bit of foreshadowed issues at the end there =w=
> 
> Don't forget to follow me! [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)
> 
> Thank you guys so much!


	8. Skywalker Garage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets a new job at a family-owned garage. Little does she know that the family that owns it is closer to her than she thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, a brief interlude from the Sexual Tension for a little comic relief. 
> 
> BY THE WAY!!! This fic now has [ ART](http://thealeksdemon-art.tumblr.com/post/142004575206/thealeksdemon-its-been-a-long-time-since-ive) By the lovely [thealeksdemon](http://thealeksdemon-art.tumblr.com) on tumblr!!
> 
> Don't forget to follow me! [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)
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> Thank you guys so much!

Rey had almost forgotten about her job application.

Her life plan wasn’t to work in a clothing store forever--she couldn’t very much afford college, so she’d tried her luck applying for jobs in the one field she was confident in: mechanical engineering.

Obviously, she wasn’t going to be a lead engineer right out of the gate, and she’d gotten ignored by most of the chain brand shops thus far, but she was determined to find a place that would hire her; even as an intern.

She had marked a month on her calendar since she and Kylo had first, ah… “resolved” their tension, when she got a call.

“Hello?”

_ “Hi is this… Rey?” _

Rey quirked her eyebrows, wondering who was calling her. “It is. Can I help you?”

_ “My name is Luke-- you put in an application to work at my garage?” _

Rey nearly fell over trying to get up from her chair. “Yes! Yes, I did!”

_ “I’d like to talk to you about it; is there a time when you could stop by the shop?” _

Excited, Rey waved her hand at her friends, trying to get their attention. “I’m actually free today! I could drop by in an hour, if that’s alright?”

_ “Sounds good to me. See you then.” _

“See you!” Rey grinned at her friends, who were now expecting an explanation to her excitement. 

“Tall Dark and Handsome want to have another sleepover?” Poe asked, grinning at her.

“I’m not even going to acknowledge your teasing today, Mr. Dameron,” Rey grinned back, leaning on her chair, “Because I just got called for an interview at a mechanics shop~”

“Wow, really?!” Finn looked just as excited as Rey did. “That’s great, Rey!”

“Good job, girl! You’d better call and tell us how it goes, alright?”

Rey gave both of her friends a hug. Through all of the teasing, all of the times they pushed her buttons, Rey could never be more concrete in her belief that she would never find as great of friends as she did in Poe and Finn. They loved her, supported her, they’d opened up their home to her when she had nowhere else to go. She owed so much to them, so much that she could never repay. 

“I love you guys. I’ll see you at dinner.” She grinned as she pulled back from the hug. Poe mirrored her grin and Finn planted an excited, friendly little kiss on her temple.

“See you later!”

“Good luck, girlie~”

Luke’s Garage was a low, flat little building on the very edge of the Industrial side of town. It was shaped interestingly; no corners on the outside. From what Rey could see from the outside, it almost looked like it used to be an old diner. The front was almost entirely open, flanked on either side with large windows. What had given Rey the “diner” idea was an oddly-shaped neon sign on the roof, which gave the whole building a retro look. The sign wasn’t on, and was being counteracted by a different one, this time that was simple blue lettering that read: “Skywalker Garage”. 

As Rey was entering through the open garage door, the first thing she heard was some sort of screech, and the flapping of wings as a blue flurry shot over her head. She yelped and ducked as the thing nearly hit her in the face. She looked up to see a blue and white bird, now perched above the doorway. He tilted his head this way and that, making odd little chirping noises that sounded nearly like a computer beeping. 

“Artoo, don’t be so rude.” The new voice made Rey stand and turn, to find a middle-aged man coming towards her. On his shoulder was another bird, this one much larger, and his feathers were all golden.

“Don’t be rude!” The parakeet repeated. The smaller bird-- a budgie, Rey thought randomly-- fluttered down from his perch to land on Rey’s head, still chirping and peeping. Rey held very still, not entirely sure how to handle this. The parakeet squawked and chased “Artoo” off of Rey’s head, the two birds circling each other in the air.

“Don’t mind Artoo and Threepio, they just get excited,” the man said, holding his hand out to her, “I’m Luke Skywalker-- you must be Rey?”

Rey brushed off the interesting occurrence, and reached out to shake Luke’s hand. “I am! Rey Kenobi.”

Luke paused, as if startled. “Interesting last name. I once had an old friend by that name.” Rey shrugged, and Luke waved it off. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Rey. You’ve already met Artoo and Threepio, and-”

“Hey, kid! Where’s that three-quarter wrench?” Now, that was a familiar voice. Luke turned as another man joined them-- this one, Rey recognized.

“Han, do I have to have a white beard before you stop calling me ‘kid’?” Luke sighed.

“Old habit,” Tossing his mismatched wrench onto the worktable, Han Solo wiped his greasy hands on his beaten-up jeans, “That the girl that applied?” He asked the question before he even looked at them, and when he did, his eyebrows shot up. “Hey-- you’re Ben’s girl!”

Rey fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. The embarrassment from her first meeting with Ben’s father was very much still fresh in her mind. “Well, uh-- I mean, we’re friends, sort of--”

“Wait,  _ this _ is the girl Ben is seeing? He mentioned you the other day!”

“Hold on, he talks to  _ you _ , but not his father?”

Rey immediately felt out-of-place. This was obviously a family matter that she had just fallen backwards into, and she wasn’t entirely sure about this job at the moment. 

Luke waved his hands at Han, not wanting to get into it, but that was when Rey noticed something: Luke’s right hand was a sleek, silver prosthetic. She hadn’t meant to stare at it, but Luke must have seen her looking. He pulled back his sleeve to show her how it was attached to his arm.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” He asked. Han rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Rey said quickly, “I didn’t mean to stare-”

“No, it’s alright! This old thing’s taken some getting used to-- but it’s been getting better recently. Y’know, with all that new bionic stuff coming out.” Luke smiled at her and gestured for her to follow him.

Luke gave her a tour of the garage, asked her about her experience, and by the end of the hour, Rey felt like she already worked here. As if to prove her thought, Luke asked her when she could start working. Maybe she didn’t know what she was getting into, but maybe she didn’t care. She was getting a job doing what she’d always loved, and as much as this extended family of her boyfriend (boyfriend? Fuck buddy? Frenemy with benefits?) seemed like a cluster of drama she didn’t exactly need, she had a feeling deep in her gut that she belonged here. She told Luke she could start as soon as possible.

Just as she said this, she heard a clang and a loud shout-- were those words? They must have been, because Han shouted back at the owner of the voice: “That’s why I told you we needed a smaller wrench!”

Curious, Rey rounded the corner, Luke trailing behind her. In the back of the garage was an old car-- must’ve been sixties or seventies-- jacked up with the intention of repairing something underneath the car. But Rey’s first thought?

With a wrinkle of her nose, she uttered: “...what a piece of  _ junk _ .”

Luke laughed, but Han pointed a finger at her in warning. “Hey! She might be old, but this baby was  _ built _ with one of the most powerful engines ever-- and Chewie and I personally modified her to have nearly twice the horsepower she had before.” 

Rey crossed her arms, pacing the length of the car to get a closer look at her. “What is she, a ‘64?”

Han looked slightly impressed. “She sure is. You know your stuff. 1964 Chrysler Hemi 426 V8 engine; back in the day, these babies could put out a max of 470 horsepower.”

“And with your mods?”

Han crossed his arms, a cocky smirk on his face. “750.”

Rey’s eyes blew wide. “Holy shit.”

Han nodded, grinning proudly. “Like I said, though, the Falcon’s old. She needs checkups from time to time.”

“The Falcon?” Rey had to hold back a laugh. “You named it?”

He looked just a bit defensive. “Yeah, I named it. I put sweat and blood into working on this car, I deserve to. I call ‘er the Millennium Falcon.”

It was at this point that Han’s friend made his way out from under the car and stood to his full height. Rey practically had to crane her neck to look up at him (and she thought  _ Kylo _ was tall). If she’d met him anywhere else, she might have assumed Bigfoot had left the woods and decided to live among man. His thick brown hair fell over his broad shoulders like an animal pelt, and she was sure he didn’t even need the sleeveless shirt he was wearing-- the amount of hair on his body would have covered him just fine. 

“Rey,” Han said casually as he went back to look for his smaller wrench, “That’s Chewie. His full name’s Chewbacca somethin’, and it’s hard to pronounce, so we just call him Chewie.”

Chewie grunted something that sounded like  _ “preev-ets-d-ya” _ , and Rey looked at Han for help. Han chuckled.

“He doesn’t speak English. He just said ‘hello’.”

“Oh,” Rey turned back to Chewie, embarrassed, “Hi...! It’s nice to meet you.”

Chewie mumbled something else and held out his hand, and Rey took it intending to shake it,but Chewie pulled her into an enormous bear hug. She gasped, and barely registered the sound of Han’s laughter.

“He likes hugs!”  _ Yeah, I noticed! _

When Chewie released her to get back to work, Rey smiled and stepped back a bit. Luke reappeared then, holding a little packet of paperwork for her. 

“Just fill these out and bring them back on Monday; I’ll have you start then. Can you do that?”

Rey didn’t bother to suppress the wide grin spreading across her face. “I can! Thank you so much, Mr. Skywalker.”

Luke laughed as he walked her to the door. “Please, don’t call me that. You can call me Luke.”

“Okay, thank you, Luke! I’ll see you on Monday!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And don't forget to subscribe~~ There's much more to come!


	9. Don't Do Something Stupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I told one of you that I wouldn't be updating because of my hectic schedule, but surprise! I finished this chapter early. And my birthday is in two days, so happy early birthday to me!
> 
> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ANGST! Prepare yourself!
> 
> Don't forget to follow me! [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)
> 
> Thank you guys so much!

_ “You did what? That’s great!” _

Rey smiled as she shifted her phone between her shoulder and her ear. “Yeah! That machine shop called me back and practically hired me on the spot.”

She'd never heard Kylo sound… happy for someone else. It was odd. She could practically hear his smile through the phone.  _ “I’m glad for you, kid. Are you coming over tonight?” _

“Yeah, I'll be over in half an hour. Want me to pick something up for dinner?”

_ “Nah, don't worry about it. I'll cook.” _

Rey’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re gonna cook?”

_ “Yes, I'm gonna cook.”. Why do you sound surprised?” _

“Because you never told me you could cook, smartass.”

_ “Well, I’m gonna show you. I’ll even teach you.” _

“I don’t need a teacher.”

“You need a teacher!”

Rey laughed.  _ “Alright, Professor. I’ll see you in a bit.” _

Kylo grinned as he bid her the same and hung up his phone. God, that laugh. Her laugh was so perfect; so innocent and pure. He didn’t at all consider himself a good person, but somewhere in his life somehow, some way, he’d done something right, because she wanted to be with him. 

“That’s cute,” came a voice from his living area. Kylo set his phone down and leaned on the counter to make brief eye contact with Hux, the ginger currently occupying his couch. “Have you two gotten to first base yet?”

“Ha, ha,” Kylo rolled his eyes, “you’re just jealous of me, Hux.”

Hux was pretty much Kylo’s only friend (besides a mutual friend that worked with Kylo), and calling him a “friend” was a bit of a stretch. They were much more like frenemies or drinking buddies, that had fucked a few times in the past. 

“Jealous? Of you?”

“Yes, jealous of me.”

“Oh, please,” Hux stood from the couch, sauntering over to Kylo, “Why would I be jealous of you robbing the cradle?”

“I’m not-- She’s 19!”

“And very mature for her age, I’m sure.”

Anger swelled in Kylo’s chest and he wasted no time getting in Hux’s face. “I won’t listen to you talk about my girlfriend like that, Hux. Back the fuck off.”

Hux wasn’t intimidated at all, and Kylo knew this. A lot of people were afraid of him, but Hux was not one of those people. He leveled with Kylo, his green gaze unimpressed by Kylo’s show of force. Finally, Hux broke the stare with a roll of his eyes. 

“Whatever. Have fun with your schoolboy crush.”

“It’s not just a schoolboy crush!” He hadn’t meant to raise his voice. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “She’s constantly on my mind, Hux. Everything about her is perfect-- from the way that she talks and the way that she isn’t intimidated by me--”

“To her orgasm face?”

“Shut up!” Kylo swung at a kitchen chair and sent it skidding across the tile. “It isn’t just sex! She isn’t just hot, she’s  _ beautiful!  _ You should hear her ramble on about mechanics. I hardly understand any of what she says when she talks about cars and motorcycles, but the way she lights up, that sparkle in her eyes-- it’s everything.”

Hux stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “I… have never heard you talk like that. About anyone or anything.”

“It’s because…” He sighed and went to put the kitchen chair back in place. “It’s because I’ve never met someone like her before. She’s  _ changing _ me, Hux. And it’s driving me crazy but I can’t help but go back for more. She’s...”

“Intoxicating?”

“Irresistible.”

Hux nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll leave you to her then. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.” Kylo started back into the kitchen, going to the fridge to discern what sort of ingredients he had to work with for dinner.

Hux paused at the door, glancing back with a seemingly disinterested look. “If you’re going to be cooking, tie your goddamn mane back.”

Kylo grinned as he went to fetch a rubber band from a drawer. “Because I look sexy with my hair back?”

“Because you’ll go up in flames with the amount of product you put in it.” Without another word, Hux was out the door and Kylo was scowling after him. 

True to her word, Rey arrived half an hour after they’d hung up the phone. She let herself in with a spare key Kylo had given her, only to find him in the kitchen, still cooking. 

“Hey,” he called without turning from the stove.

“Hey-- is that a man bun?” 

This time, he turned to grin at her. “Maybe.”

“Looks hot on you.”

“Says the woman that wears three buns every day.”

“Admit it,” Rey chortled, “You like my buns.”

“I  _ love _ your buns.”

“I love yours too,” She laughed and smacked his ass for emphasis, before looping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his back. “So what’s for dinner, Chef Ren?”

“I made some stir fry and rice,” He turned to hug her back, kissing the top of her head. “I hope you like spicy food.”

“I love spice. Can’t stand bland food, that’s all my- well, that’s all I had growing up.”

They were hardly a month into this relationship. Rey still wasn’t sure she wanted to divulge all her secrets-- was it too soon? Would it feel like she was dumping her emotional baggage on him? She knew he had some too; that was evident when his father had shown up. But he hadn’t been ready to share any of that with her, and that was fine. 

She’d made peace with the fact that her parents were dead a long time ago; they  _ had _ died when she was very young anyway. She was a foster kid for most of her life, that wasn’t a bad thing. But the last time she’d told someone that her parents were dead and she’d grown up in the foster system, she’d gotten pitying looks and patronizing treatment. She wasn’t a weak little thing that needed protection and pity, she was strong and could handle herself.

The reason why she hadn’t told Kylo this shit yet wasn’t because she was angry about her lot in life-- she just didn’t want this guy to look at her the way other people did. She didn’t want him to pity her, and she definitely didn’t want to feel like she was guilting him into anything.

His voice snapped her out of her reverie. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that with me. My mother is a great cook, she taught me really well.”

Rey smiled and went to go get them some wine from the fridge. “I can’t wait to taste it.”

Watching him prepare this meal was an experience in and of itself. Here was this man, who had been an asshole to her from day one, now three months later, looking like an entirely different person. She had no clue he could be so…  _ domestic _ . 

Then something occurred to her. All this time, she’d been calling him Kylo. Kylo Ren, a fake name he’d chosen for himself. When he’d sassed her about her dry hair when they first met, that was Kylo Ren. When he’d followed her around all day and come into the store last minute, that was Kylo Ren. But this man standing in front of her right now, holding two hot bowls of stir fry on rice with his hair in a messy man bun, this wasn’t Kylo Ren. This was Ben Solo, like the name on his credit card and driver’s license. 

And the moment he smiled and set their food down, Rey knew resistance was futile. She was way too far gone to run now-- he had her by the heart and she didn’t want him to let go.

“So,” he said as he sat down, “your new job. Tell me about it.”

Rey finally managed to stop staring at him, clearing her throat. “Um, well… It’s this garage over on Achtoo Street? The old guy that runs it is really nice! I start on Monday.”

Kylo grinned and took a bite of his food. “I’m proud of you, kid,” he said around a mouthful of spicy chicken.

Rey tried to hide a blush as she swallowed her own mouthful. “Yeah, actually, uh… I had no clue, but… Turns out it’s actually owned by your uncle.”

This time, Kylo nearly choked on his food. He started coughing violently, banging on his chest to keep from asphyxiating on his spicy chicken. When he’d finally regained his breath, he looked at her with wide eyes. “ _ What?! _ ”

“Yeah, I uh… Ran into your dad too.”

Kylo got up from the table, still coughing, and went to get himself a glass of water. Once he’d downed half of it, he shook his head. “You can’t work there.”

Rey, shocked, took a second to process what he’d said. “I- what?! The fuck do you mean I can’t work there?!”

“Listen, kid,” he said, leaning on the counter, “my family is more fucked up than they seem from the outside, okay? It’s best if you don’t get in with them.”

“I’m not gonna give up  _ my dream job _ because it’s with your family’s garage!” 

“Rey, that’s drama you don’t need, okay, just listen to me-”

“No, you listen, okay?” She stood up suddenly, her chair groaning as it slid back against the tile. “Your family seems to care about you, Ben Solo-”

Kylo slammed his fists on the counter. “Don’t fucking call me that!”

“ _ Don’t you fucking interrupt me! _ ” She shouted right back at him, “Your family just loves you! They’re nice people, they care! Do you know what I would give to have a family that cares about me as much as yours cares about you?! Or have a family  _ at all  _ anymore?!”

That stopped him. He looked up at her in confusion, and she realized she’d let it slip. Fuck. 

“Rey, what do you mean?”

“Fucking forget it, I’m going home.” her instincts were kicking in, screaming at her to run now, get away. She threw her bag over her shoulder and grabbed her keys, but Kylo was at the door before she could get there.

“Oh fuck no!” He said, blocking her off, “You don’t get to insert yourself into my family’s business and try to tell me how to treat them and then run off when I want to know more about you!”

“What’s there to know?! I’m a skinny little nobody, with no family and no special talents or anything. I like mechanics because a fucking engine won’t look at you like a broken little thing when it learns your parents died and you grew up in the foster system!” And there it was. The Look. She didn’t want to get the same fucking treatment from this guy she thought she really liked. She was holding back tears as she tried to get past him.

“Why do you think I’d treat you like that?!” He kept trying to block her, kept putting his hands on her arms to get her to stop, but she fought against him.

“Because everyone else fucking does! My own friends pitied me when they first met me, that’s the only reason I have a place to stay right now!”

“I’m not everyone else!”

“ _ Then stop fucking acting like it! _ ”

He stood there, still blocking the door, fists balled and shaking with a lot of pent-up anger she hadn’t seen before. She flinched when he let out a wordless yell and turned and put his fist through the wall. Her tears welled over as she took the chance to bolt out the door without looking back. When she was gone, he took his bloody fist out of the drywall and fell to his knees, hanging his head.

“I love you.” He muttered bitterly.

_ Don’t do something stupid _ , Hux’s voice echoed in his head.

“Shut the fuck up!” He shouted at the wall, using his other fist to punch it again, but this time he didn’t even make a dent.


	10. Call Me Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people wanted more Hux, so I give you... more Hux!
> 
> And to clarify some things, this is a Reylo story, so there won't be any Kylux; I happen to be a Kylux fan and I realize that what I've written might be mistaken for Kylux if taken the wrong way, but Rey is gonna end up with Kylo! (I'll definitely be writing more kylux stuff in the future, though; modern au included.)
> 
> Don't forget to follow me! [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)
> 
> Thank you guys so much!

Hux doesn’t open the door until the fourth time Kylo knocks.

Kylo hasn’t even cleaned himself up much. He put some band-aids on his knuckles, but that was the extent of the medical care he’d taken of himself. His hands are the first things Hux’s eyes drift to, before he rolls them in utter contempt-- a look Kylo got from him a lot. 

“...I told you not to do anything stupid.”

Kylo glared at him and let himself in. “I  _ didn’t  _ do anything!”

“Well, you put your fist through the wall again. Obviously.”

“Not my fault.”

“Not your- how could it have not been your fault? You’re the one that punched a goddamn wall.”

“ _ Because she-! _ ” Kylo had to stop himself from shouting, but he did slam his hands on the table. An orange ball of fur darted out from under the table, and Hux cooed as he went to pick up his cat.

“You scared Millicent,” He spat at Kylo, before turning a full 180 and kissing his furball’s head, shushing and petting her. 

“Fuck your damn cat, Hux, I need  _ help! _ ” Kylo shot back at him, balling his fists, “I don’t know what I did to piss Rey off but she won’t answer my calls or my texts, and I just- I’ve been calling her-” He wasn’t sure where his sentence had been headed in the first place, but it ended in a roar and he smacked a kitchen chair over.

“HEY.” Hux shouted at him, setting the cat down and going to set the chair back on its feet. “If you’re gonna throw a tantrum and break shit, you can throw a tantrum and break shit in your own fucking house! Otherwise, you fucking suck it up and go talk to her! I won’t have you breaking my shit because you’re too cowardly to talk to her in person.”

Kylo groaned. “But she’s at work! At my uncle’s garage.”

“So?”

“So, my fucking dad will be there.”

Hux sighed and pinched his nose. “You need to get over these Daddy issues, Ren.”

“I don’t have-.... I mean, it’s not like  _ that _ -”

But Hux is already pushing him back towards the door. “Go and fucking talk to her. I can’t have you moping around here all day.” 

“I’m not  _ moping _ -”

“ _ Out! _ ” Kylo could have very easily resisted Hux’s pushing, and they both knew it, but he had already resigned himself to leaving. 

He didn’t want to go to his uncle’s garage. The last time he’d been there, it had ended in a fight, and he’d said some things about his father that he wasn’t proud of. 

Something roiled in his gut every time he thought about his family. No matter how much they’d tried, they’d never truly understood him. His mother, her brother, and his father were similarly minded; only showing the emotions they wanted you to see, when they wanted you to see them. As nefarious as that might sound, it wasn’t as if they were emotionally manipulative-- most of the time, they hardly knew they were neglecting Kylo until he stormed out of the house at 18 and never looked back. 

He’d tried so hard to be like them. He tried to hide his emotions, to cover them up and never let them show until they tore him apart inside. Could he help it if he felt so wholly? Wasn’t it better to feel too much than to feel nothing at all? As a child, his father would tell him not to let people see him cry. His mother would pipe in and tell him not to let anyone see that they got to him. Perhaps there were good intentions behind their advice, but Ben Solo always took it to mean that he should hide his emotions to be stronger.

That’s why, once he’d finally left college, that he’d given himself a persona: Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren didn’t feel so much like Ben Solo did. Kylo Ren was controlled, intense, and never let anyone see more than one side of him. Ben Solo was emotional, and therefore weak. So Kylo Ren took over and became the strength that they both needed. 

But then this girl came along. This beautiful, strong woman with a smile like the sun and eyes like hot whiskey came into his life--after he’d been so entrenched in being Kylo Ren that Ben Solo had been all but forgotten--and she tore the mask right off. A good percentage of people were scared or intimidated by Kylo Ren, but Rey had seen right through him, right into the soul of Ben Solo. Her voice had woken Ben from his sleep, and Kylo had desperately tried to maintain control-- but with these two warring inside him, Kylo hadn’t been too sure what to do with this girl. He was nice, he was mean. He gave her attention, and made her go crazy. As crazy as she made him.

He’d gotten so used to pushing people away; usually, once he pushed them out, they would stay out. But Rey just kept coming back into his head. They hadn’t been through much, and they started out hating each other, but he couldn’t deny it anymore: he needed her. All of the confusion melted away when he was with her. What he felt for her was simple, uncomplicated. She knew him as he wanted her to know him; as Kylo Ren, without the baggage of Ben Solo’s family drama.

And now, it was time for her to know Ben Solo and the Solo-Organa-Skywalker family.

Before he could second-guess the decision, he found himself at the door to his uncle’s garage. After a deep breath, he stepped through the wide garage door. No going back now. 

“Uncle Luke?”

His uncle appeared from behind a car with an open hood. “Ben? Is that you?”

Before “Ben” could answer, a wrench came flying across the garage, nearly missing him and flying out onto the driveway with a clang. Eyes wide, he whirled around to see Rey across the garage, glaring at him. 

“What the fuck, Rey?! Are you trying to kill me?!” He shouted, his voice higher than he’d meant it to be.

She turned back to the bike she was working on. “If I were trying to kill you, I wouldn’t have missed.”

“Fucking hell, I come to apologize and nearly get my head taken off!”

“Keep your apology,” she spat at him, “I don’t need your pity or your remorse for pitying me.”

“I don’t  _ pity _ you, Rey,” he sighed and rubbed his face, and she didn’t stick around to hear what else he had to say; instead, she disappeared into the back. Maybe he shouldn’t have come. 

“Ben,” he’d forgotten for a moment that Luke had even been standing there, “is everything alright?”

Kylo sighed, and gave his uncle a sad look. Luke nodded, as if he knew that there was a long story behind this. He went over to a desk, where a coffee maker sat. He poured a cup for himself and one for Kylo, then they sat down to talk. It was a ritual that still lingered from his childhood-- him and his uncle, sitting down with a cup of coffee, and Ben talking about his feelings.

Ben? Yeah, Ben. It was Kylo’s stupidity that had caused this trouble in the first place. Fuck Kylo Ren and his emotional constipation. Ben Solo wanted his girlfriend back.

Ben told Luke how he and Rey had met. He told him how he’d been so shocked by her that he wasn’t sure at all how to be nice to her. He told him about how they’d kept running into each other (leaving out the sex bits), like some invisible force was pushing them together. He told Luke about how he’d been laboring over his emotions, trying to suppress them, and how he felt like he was being torn apart.

At the end of his story, there was a beat of silence before Luke burst out laughing. Ben slammed his cup down in frustration.

“Damnit, Uncle, I’m  _ serious! _ ”

“Far  _ too _ serious, Ben!” Luke laughed, rubbing at his eyes, “Trying to be someone you’re not just to hide what you feel naturally is unhealthy. Be who you are, Ben Solo. Rey seems to like you either way.”

That was his uncle in a summary: bad jokes, followed by compassion, followed by unfathomable wisdom. It was the reason Ben still talked to him, especially about the things he couldn’t talk to his parents about. 

“So you think I should go after her?” Ben asked after taking a big drink of his coffee.

“I absolutely do.”

“...even though she threw a wrench at my head?”

“...I mean, if you think she’ll do it again you can always dodge-”

“ _ Uncle!” _

“What?”

Ben sighed and stood up. “Alright. I guess I’ll go talk to her. And hope she doesn’t take my head off.” He stood and set his coffee down, and his uncle gave him a light bump on the arm with his good hand.

“Go get her.”

Ben took a deep breath and headed into the back. Rey was at a desk, hunched over a tablet, looking at the schematics for some engine or another and muttering to herself. He approached carefully, making sure not to sneak up behind her. 

“...Rey?”

She mumbled something else to herself, giving no indication that she’d heard him. He was about to speak again when she let out a small huff. “What?”

“...I just wanted to apologize. Really.”

She took another long pause, then she spoke again. “...for what.”

“For scaring you,” he began. He’d meant to stop there, but once the words were out, they just kept spilling, “For patronizing you or whatever. For making you feel like you’re less than amazing in my eyes-” he could feel the blush spreading across his cheeks, and he looked down at his fidgeting hands in frustration, “Because that’s not how I see you at all. I don’t see you as some broken thing-- you’re… you’re fantastic, Rey. You’re so strong and determined, and I love seeing the way you light up when you talk about what you love. And- and-” he still couldn’t get words out properly. He stumbled over them, gripping his forehead when he paused for too long. “Fuck! I don’t know why this is so hard to say- I’m scared I’ll mess things up, or that I messed them up already, or- fuck, something…”

He nearly jumped when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, and saw Rey looking up at him, her eyes misty. There were so many other things he wanted to say to describe how he saw her: beautiful, bright, brilliant-- like a star. Something better than he deserved. But a glance between them said it all: that wasn’t necessary. All the things he wanted say about her, he could see she already knew. It was there, shining in her eyes; and the longer he looked, the more lost in them they became.

“I love you.” he managed to utter as her thumb stroked his cheek. 

The act of smiling made her lingering, happy tears flow over, and she managed a small chuckle. “I know.”

Ben laughed and scooped her up into his arms, holding her so tight. She grinned and buried her face into his shoulder, clinging to him for dear life.

“I love you too, Kylo Ren.”

Ben pulled back, setting a heavy hand on the top of Rey’s head. “No,” he said.

“Call me Ben.”


	11. The Solo-Skywalkers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Solo goes home, with his girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words cannot describe how sorry I am that I haven't gotten anything up in so long. I am fighting a wicked writer's block while simultaneously writing a novel, writing another fic, and trying to get my life together.
> 
> It's probably going to be a while before I update again. Going through a lot.

_ Bzzzt bzzzt! _

“Unnh-- Ben--”

_ Bzzzt bzzzt! _

Rey sighed. “Dammit, where’s my phone?”

Ben groaned and held onto her hips. “Rey, ignore it, please-”

Rey chuckled and kissed his nose, sliding off of him. “It might be Finn or Poe.”

“Yes, because the only time Finn or Poe calls with something important is when you’re about to ride me.”

Rey snorted a laugh as she answered her phone. “Hello? Finn?”

It was rather hard to discern what Finn was saying over the phone. He was practically hysterical, and the only words Rey could discern were “oh my god” and “Poe”

With a surprised laugh, Rey said, “Whoa, Finn, slow down! What happened to Poe?”

_ “Nothing happened! Well, not nothing, but nothing happened to him, it’s more like something he did--” _

“What is it, Finn?” Rey tried to ignore the annoyed look Ben was giving her. 

_ “He- he asked me to be his boyfriend!” _

Rey’s face lit up. “He- he  _ what now _ ?!”

_ “Rey, Poe asked me to date him! And I said yes!” _

Her jaw went slack, and the look she gave Ben made his annoyed expression give way to an interested one. 

“You- you said yes!” A shocked gasp left her lips. “Oh my god,  _ finally!” _

Finn was laughing, and Rey could hear Poe on the other line, shouting something very happily.  _ “Yeah, right?! Finally!” _

Laughing, Rey sat back down on the bed. “Listen, I’ll be home later, then we can talk about it, okay?”

_ “Okay- okay, yeah! Just- don't-” _

“I won’t come home too early, so you and Poe can have some alone time~”

Finn started stammering on the other line, so Rey bid him a quick congrats and a farewell, then hung up. 

“Your roommates are together then, huh?” Ben gave her a smile as she crawled back over him. “I thought you told me they weren’t even aware they liked each other?”

“Nah,” Rey said as she straddled his hips, “I’ve been giving them little nudges here and there. I guess Poe finally made his move.”

Ben wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trailing kisses from her collarbone up her neck. She giggled in his ear, locking her arms around his shoulders. They spent a solid minute wrapped up in each other, merely enjoying the warmth of the embrace. Ben reached up to brush his fingers against her cheek. He gazed at her, at her honey-brown eyes so filled with love; her light dusting of freckles, hardly noticeable unless he was this close. The brilliant little smile that lit up her face would have been enough to knock him off his feet.

“What?” She asked.

He grinned and took her cheeks in his hands. “I love you.”

Rey smiled back at him and set her hands over his, pressing a kiss to his wrist. “I love you too, Ben.”

They pressed their foreheads together, and Ben wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips had hardly brushed against each other when Ben’s doorbell rang. Ben let out a loud groan and fell backwards onto his bed, and Rey threw her head back and laughed.

“You want to get it this time?” She asked, rolling off to lay next to him. He sighed and stood from the bed, yanking a shirt on. “Tell your dad I say hi.” She burst into laughter when he flipped her off.

Ben answered the door, only to find his uncle standing in the doorway. “Uncle Luke?”

“Hey, Ben,” Luke smiled at him, “Can I come in?”

Grudgingly, Ben opened the door to let Luke into the apartment. Rey emerged from the bedroom, fully clothed of course.

“Hey, Luke,” She greeted. Luke gave her a smile and a little wave.

“Your apartment is much cleaner than the last time I was over, Ben,” Luke commented, a joking tone in his voice, “Maybe dating this girl  _ will _ be really good for you!”

Ben glared at him, and Rey tried to stifle a giggle. “What are you doing here, Uncle?”

“Your dad sent me-”

“Of course he did.”

“-to invite you both to dinner tomorrow night.”

Ben froze. Surprised, Rey sat on the arm of the couch, smiling at Luke. “That sounds-”

“-Like a terrible idea,” Ben interrupted, more focused on his Uncle than he was on the slightly disappointed look on Rey’s face, “Uncle Luke, the last time I was home, it didn’t really go so well.”

Instead of trying to argue, Luke sighed. “Ben, your mom misses you. And she wants to meet Rey-- she’s the only person in your family who hasn’t met Rey yet.”

“Then she can come here and meet her,” Ben ran a hand through his hair, “you know I can’t stand being in the same room as my father for more than a few minutes!”

“Ben,” Luke pleaded, “you’re going to need to work things out with your dad at some point.”

“I don’t-!” Ben sighed and sat down at the kitchen table, “I just don’t want to go, okay?”

“...I do.” The two men looked over to Rey, who was now standing with her arms crossed. “I want to go.”

“Rey, please-”

“No, Ben, come on,” She said, “we’ve been dating for over two months now, I think it's high time I met your mother.”

Ben pinched his nose. “Rey, I really just don't want you to have to endure the sheer amount of drama that goes down at my family's dinners. You shouldn't need to see that--”

“Benjamin Lucas Solo,” Rey crossed her arms and stood firm, “I’m a big girl. I’ve gone through six foster families’ worth of drama, I think I can stand to have dinner with my boyfriend’s parents.”

Ben wrinkled his nose at his full name. He absolutely regretted having her find out his real name-- even though he’d given up on Kylo Ren, hearing her call him that reminded him too much of his mother. 

“I don’t want to argue with you,” Ben sighed, “But just… be ready for things to not go smoothly.”

“Don’t worry, Ben! I’ll be there, too.” Luke said. Ben didn’t respond, he just blinked at his uncle. “What-”

“... Oh, sorry, was that supposed to comfort me?”

Rey couldn’t help a little giggle. Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head at Ben. “See you tomorrow night, Ben.” 

After Luke left, Rey turned to Ben with a hopeful look. They locked eyes for a moment, and then Ben sighed.

“Alright, we’ll go.”

Rey grinned and jumped over to hug him tightly. “I’m proud of you, Ben~”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben mumbled, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling into her hair. 

* * *

“It’s not too late to go home.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “Ben, we’re standing at your parents’ front door.” 

“Yeah, but we haven’t knocked yet-”

_ “Ben.” _

“Alright, alright.”

Rey looped her arm around Ben’s. He lifted his other hand to knock, but he hesitated. Rey sighed and then reached over him to ring the doorbell. Ben went frigid, and Rey would have been nervous if Ben hadn’t been acting ridiculous on the way over. 

She pretended not to notice how Ben clenched his fists as the door opened. 

Ben had told her about his mother-- how she was a lawyer, and a senator when he was young, and hardly around. She worked hard for her family, took no shit, and never let anything stand in her way. 

So Rey was actually surprised when a small woman opened the door. She was shorter even than Rey, and very slight. Ben stood a good foot above her in height. Her greying hair was braided over her shoulder, and her expression was more gentle than Ben made her believe it would be. She cocked a curious eyebrow at Ben, and Rey could practically hear him gulp.

“Mother.” He said, trying to keep his voice steady.

His mother paused for a second, then a grin spread across her face and she nearly knocked him over with the force of her hug. 

“Oh, Ben, it’s so good to see you,” She pulled back, turning to Rey, “and you must be Rey. I’ve heard so many good things about you, I’m so glad to finally meet you.” She pulled Rey into a warm hug as well, and Rey couldn’t help a nervous laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Solo-”

“Oh please, don’t call me that,” she ushered the two of them into the house, patting Rey on the arm, “you can call me Leia. I never changed my last name to Han’s.”

“You never went by our family name either!” Came a shout from the kitchen, and Rey smiled when she recognized Luke’s voice.

“Because our father was a drama queen!” Leia shouted back at him as she led Rey and Ben into the kitchen. 

Luke was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, Chewie sat next to him, and Han was leaning on the kitchen counter. There was a squawk, and Rey had just enough time to duck before Luke’s birds swooped over her head. Han greeted them with a little wave, and Chewie got up from his seat to go and hug Ben, mumbling something too.

Ben laughed despite the sudden lack of breath in his lungs. “Hey, big guy-- yeah, I missed you too-”

“Honestly,” Leia continued, “What kind of last name was ‘Skywalker’? Ben, dear, would you help me set the table?”

“I’ll help!” Rey offered.

“That’s so sweet of you, Rey. It usually takes me a good half hour to convince Ben to help me around the house.”

Ben sighed as he sunk into a chair at the table. “And it begins.” He muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, mommy.”

“Mmmhm,” Leia hummed. “Well, I hope you’re planning on behaving, Benjamin, because I made your favorite.”

Rey had never seen Ben shoot up so fast. “...gourmet mac n’ cheese?”

Rey had to stop herself from laughing. “Wait, that’s a thing?”

“Sure is, kid,” Han piped up, “and Leia makes the best around. There was one time, when Ben was ten or eleven-”

“Oh God, dad, please no-”

“Leia made one of these, and she’d set it out to cool,” Han continued, “She goes away for not even ten minutes, and when we both come back to get the meal started, Ben’s sitting on the floor of the kitchen, eating it right out of the pan. He finished half of it all by himself.”

Ben groaned and set his head down on the table. 

“Ben, come on, sit up,” Leia came over as Rey was finishing up setting the table, setting the gourmet mac and cheese in the middle of the table. There was also a bowl of steamed veggies, and some hot dinner rolls and butter. “Let’s eat!”

Rey sat next to Ben, glancing around the table. As dramatic as Ben could be, what he really had was wonderful. His family cared about him a lot, and Rey wished she could have had at least something like this in her life. A family dinner, with everyone sitting around and eating and talking-

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt tiny little feet in her hair. “Huh-?”

Leia gave her brother a look. “Luke, do you  _ have _ to have your birds at the table? Artoo is nesting in Rey’s hair.”

Rey laughed and reached back to pet the budgie making a nest out of one of her buns. “It’s alright, he does this at work too.”

Leia looked at Rey, giving her a warm smile. Artoo twittered at her, wiggling his little tail feathers. She chuckled at the bird, and the family started eating. Rey glanced at Ben, who was hunched over his plate, practically devouring the mac n cheese. She smiled to herself as she picked up her fork; what a big dork. She loved him so much.

“So Rey,” Leia began as she spread butter on a roll, “tell us how you and Ben met.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Mom, I already told you, we met at work-”

“I wanna hear it from Rey’s point of view.” Leia smiled at Rey, “So how did you two meet?”

“Well,” Rey drawled. For a moment, she debated over whether or not to tell Ben’s mother that he’d rudely commented on her hair. Should she skim over that? Probably not, she wasn’t very good at lying in the first place. “He was at work, I came into the store just looking around, and he told me I needed help,” Leia shot Ben a curious look, but he was far too interested in his food to notice, and Rey continued, “He, uh- said my hair was really dry, and I needed some fancy shampoo.”

“Ben, you were rude to her?” Leia chastised. 

“I was trying to help her!” Ben argued, “She was looking at those stupid little vegan shampoos we sold, I thought I could help.”

Rey chuckled and smiled at Ben, “Come on, Ben, admit it, you didn’t know how to talk to a pretty girl.”

Ben went red in the face and hunched over his mac and cheese. With a giggle, Rey went back to telling the story.

“That must have been the case, cos he kept coming back to see me at work. There was one day when I messed up the dressing rooms and accidentally walked in on him shirtless-” she heard Ben snort a laugh at that, “And then… somehow we ended up sitting next to each other at the Galaxy Wars premiere.”

Ben shot up like a frightened deer, but Rey shook her head, “I ended up missing the last fifteen minutes the first time because we went outside to argue,” She could see Ben visibly relax and hoped no one else noticed, “But a few weeks after that, we were at a party, and we danced together. We went on our first date the next day.”

The table was silent for a beat, then Han leaned back in his chair. “Helluva story, kid.”

“It sort of reminds me of how you two got together,” Luke smiled and nodded at his sister and her husband, “cos you two  _ hated _ each other when you first met.”

Leia smiled as she continued eating. “Well, Rey, you’re part of the family now. If there’s anything you need, just let me know.”

Rey nodded, but Ben seemed put off by this. He stood, took his plate to the sink, and then ran upstairs. Rey watched him go, confused, but his family seemed unfazed. Leia even sighed. Rey quietly excused herself and then hurried up after him.

She knocked as she peeked through the door to (what she assumed) must have been Ben’s room when he still lived with his parents. Rock band posters hung on the walls, of bands Rey had barely heard of. The furnishings were mostly black, with some red thrown in to add a little color. It was almost exactly how she’d predicted Ben’s childhood room might look like.

“Ben? You okay?”

Ben had thrown himself sideways over the bed, his legs hanging over the edge and his face buried in the black comforter. “Leave me alooooone,” He groaned.

“Ben, come on,” Rey sat down on the bed next to him, and he rolled over to look up at her, “I thought dinner was going fine, what’s wrong? Was it something I said?”

“No,” He sighed, “But… my mom. She just welcomed you into the family, just like that. I’ve been fighting with them for years now, since I left college, and she just… just drops it, like I didn’t do anything.”

“What did you want her to do? Tell you that you can’t come over?”

“No… I don’t know,” He grunted in frustration and threw an arm over his eyes, “I’ve just been the worst son ever, but you come along, and suddenly she accepts me right back? You dating me isn’t gonna turn me into the perfect son.”

Rey rolled her eyes and shifted to set his head in her lap. “Ben. Stop it.” He moved his arm to look up at her as she began playing with his hair, “I don’t think they want you to be the perfect son. Your family just wants you around, they don’t want you ignoring them because you think they hate you.”

“You don’t get it, though,” Ben looked up at her sadly, “I don’t think they hate me, I just… I don’t feel good enough for them. I never have.”

Rey looked down at him, taking in those sad brown eyes and wishing she could change how he felt. “I know a bit of what that’s like. According to my social worker, I just showed up one day at a fire station. They didn’t have a note, birth certificate, nothing to tell them who I was, or who my parents were. Even as a baby, I wasn’t good enough for someone,” Ben reached up to touch her face, and she smiled at him, “But I’m good enough for you. I’m loved by you, and by my friends, and even by your family.  _ You _ are loved by your family too, Ben. Your mom still makes your favorite dish, how is that not love?”

Ben chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”

“They left your room alone too,” she said, looking up at his posters, “they could have taken this stuff down but they left it for you to come home to.” 

“Eh, I hardly listen to this stuff anymore,” Ben said, getting up and walking over to a shelf of CDs, “Well, except my granddad’s stuff.”

“Your… granddad?”

“Yeah,” He chuckled and held up a CD to show her: it depicted a rock band, a bunch of guys dressed up in white armor, led by a guy wearing all black, a helmet covering his face. Rey had seen that helmet depicted a thousand times. Her eyes went wide.

“Wait, that’s the band  _ Empire, _ ” she said, “you can’t be serious.”

Ben grinned at her. “I am totally fucking serious. My grandfather was Darth Vader-- well, that was his stage name, anyway. He kept his real name a secret until the band broke up. He always wore the helmet onstage, it would disguise his voice.”

“I used to listen to their music all the time!”

Ben chuckled and sat down on his bed, “I wanted to be just like Grandpa Ani when I was little. I used to be into making music too, but I kinda gave up on it.”

“Why?” Rey went to sit on his lap, looping her arms around his neck. 

Ben shrugged and hugged her waist. “I dunno… I wasn’t really good.”

“Will you show me?” 

He chuckled and kissed her, then settled into a hug. “Maybe some other time, kid.”

They both jumped when a knock came at the door. Rey hopped off Ben’s lap to stand awkwardly next to the bed as Han raised an eyebrow at them.

“If you kids ain’t too busy, Leia’s got some hot pie waiting for you down there.”

“Yeah. Thanks, dad.” Ben said, a laugh in his voice. He stood from the bed and took Rey’s hand, and the two of them followed Han back downstairs.


	12. The Calm Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The much-awaited Chapter 12! Next chapter is gonna be gut-wrenchingly feelsy, just warning y'all now.
> 
> Thank you all for your continued support of me and this story! Life keeps getting in the way of my writing— hell, WRITING keeps getting in the way of my writing. I am currently working on a book that I'm trying desperately to finish the first draft of. But it means so much to me that I still have you all to read my reylo stuff, even if I take f o r e v e r to update.
> 
> Don't forget to follow me!  
> [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)

They fell into a routine. Rey would go to work at the garage, Ben would come pick her up afterward, and they’d go home together to have dinner. On their joint days off they’d laze around the house, or go to the movies, or Rey would drag him out to socialize with her former roommates. She’d practically moved in to his apartment, with her own drawer of clothes, and her second-best pair of sneakers by the door. 

The whole year could’ve gone by like that, and Rey would have been in heaven. Summer had only just ended, and the weather was finally becoming bearable. She and Ben had been official for a good six months or so.

It was raining one day, Rey was trying to get the transmission on an older Chevy working again, and Ben was hanging around the garage. He helped her when he could, and kept up conversation.

“Hey, Rey?” He asked after a long pause.

“Yeah?” She asked from under the car.

“I was just thinking…” He paused, picking at his nails and staring down, “You mentioned that Finn and Poe’s lease is due for a renewal soon, right?”

Rey rolled her little trolley out from under the car, to sit up and look at him. “Yeah, on the 17th. Why?”

Ben shrugged and still refused to look at her. “So… I mean, the apartment they’re in is way too big for two people, right? They’ll only need the one bedroom since they’re together now, and we’ve been together awhile... there’s plenty of space to put an extra dresser or whatever in my room— Or, I could get rid of some of my stuff and you could just put yours with mine—”

Rey raised her eyebrows. “Ben—?”

He took another long pause, then he sighed and finally looked at her. “Will you move in with me?” 

He said it so fast, she had to take a second to process what he was asking. “You want… to live together?”

“Yeah, it’s stupid, forget it—”

“No!” Now, she was the one speaking too quickly. “I mean… no, it’s not stupid. You’re right, it would make sense, since the lease is up soon and stuff—”

“You wouldn’t really need to help with rent at my place,” He said, “I can kinda handle it on my own—”

“Ben, if I’m gonna be living there, I’m going to want to help with the rent.” She chuckled, “I don’t want to feel like I’m freeloading off you.”

“Well you could pay me with that hot ass of yours.” A dirty rag flew past his head, and he laughed as he ducked out of the way. They wound up staring at each other for a good moment, then Rey grinned at him.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“I’ll move in with you. But you  _ have _ to get rid of some clothes, or else my stuff isn’t going to fit.”

Ben let out a surprised laugh, then he grinned right back at her. “Deal.” He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, and she returned it by kissing his chin.

The next week, three boxes, a backpack, and a suitcase were sitting in Ben’s living room, and he was standing over them with his arms crossed. Rey stood across from him, confused at his expression. He spoke first.

“This  _ can’t _ be it.”

Rey set her hands on her hips. “What does that mean?”

“I mean this can’t be it!” Ben gestured to her stuff. “This can’t be everything you own.”

“It is though,” She crossed her arms. “One box for memories, one box for books, one box for clothes, a suitcase of shoes, jackets, and my winter coat, and a backpack with my computer and stuff in it.”

“You don’t have like… important documents or whatever? Your birth certificate?”

“They’re in a folder in my memories box.”

“A folder? Just one?”

“Yeah? So what?” Rey balled her fists, “Sorry I don’t have a whole house full of stuff, okay? I never had money for shit, so…”

Ben sighed and stepped over to hug her. “Don’t be sorry. You and me are gonna have memories we make together, we’re gonna have stuff; pictures in frames, furniture, art that makes no sense that we hang up cos it’s pretty—”

“Lace doilies?”

“Oh god, no.” They both laughed, shared a kiss, and started on the boxes.

“By the way,” Ben said as they carried a couple boxes into the bedroom, “A couple people I know are going to this bonfire thing tomorrow? Friend of mine’s throwing it, she invited me.”

“A bonfire?”

“Yeah, it’ll be like a little cookout, up on the lake. You can bring your friends if you want, we all just gotta bring food and drinks and stuff.”

Rey nodded as she opened up her box. “Sounds like fun.”

 

* * *

 

 

Ben might have regretted letting his girlfriend bring her friends. Or he at least regretted letting them all ride in his car. After the millionth godforsaken catchy pop song sing-a-long, he was ready to smash his own car radio in.

Right before he finally lost his damn mind, they arrived at the meetup spot. The sun was dipping in the sky, turning it brilliant orange and pink. Right next to the water, there was a mountain of scrap wood, surrounded by those cheap tiki torches you get at the garden store. A bunch of people were gathered on the backs of the pick-up trucks surrounding the fire pit, drinking beers and laughing. Someone had set up a grill, and a tall blonde woman was busy grilling burgers, hot dogs, and other delicious-looking meats. Someone’s stereo was blasting the local rock station. 

They parked, and Ben was the first one out of the car. “Phas!” He waved his arm, and the blonde woman at the grill waved back at him, before heading over to say hi. Rey got out to stand next to Ben. 

“Kylo, good to see you! Thanks for coming.” Phas gave him a hug, then looked at Rey. “This must be the girl we’ve heard so much about.”

“Yep, this is Rey,” He put his arm around her. “Rey, this is my friend, Gwendoline Phasma.”

“Everyone calls me Phas.” She smiled and reached out to shake Rey’s hand. “You guys were the only ones we were waiting on! Come on down and have some ribs, or a burger or something.”

Finn rounded the car, carrying a huge bowl of guacamole and three bags of chips, and Poe was right behind him with a case of beer in one hand and a case of hard lemonade in the other. “We brought libations!” Poe called, holding up one of the cases.

“And these are Rey’s friends,” Ben sighed, “Finn and Poe.”

“Nice to meet you.” Phas grinned and led them all back down to the group. “We’re lighting the fire after sunset, you guys can stay as long as you want.”

The more time they spent here, Ben felt a weight lifting off his shoulders. This place was separate from the rest of the world, and the only indication of the passage of time was the changing of songs on the radio, and the sky becoming yellow and orange and pink. Rey was on her second hot dog, and Ben had to hold back laughter at the sheer lack of manners his girlfriend had. 

Ben wasn’t a people person at all. But just sitting back and watching this group have fun, his girlfriend and her friends among them, that was enough for him. He didn’t even bother to protest when his girlfriend pulled him on his feet and swung him out to dance with him. Stumbling around like an idiot was definitely worth the look of pure joy on her face. 

It was the best he’d ever felt in a long time.

This girl. This girl who’d come into his life so suddenly, this girl who’d practically kicked his legs out from under him and punched the air from his lungs with a single sassy look. She was the reason for his happiness, she’d brought him to this point in his life, and now he couldn’t imagine a time before he was happy.

He should have known it wouldn’t last.

It was dark when he got the call. The bonfire was burning bright, and they’d just finished an off-key group rendition of  _ American Pie _ —some asshole had brought his guitar and fumbled through the chords of the song like he thought he was Jimi Hendrix—when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He looked at the caller ID, and sighed when he saw it was his mother. He gave Rey a quick kiss on the cheek and stepped away from the group to answer her.

“Hey, mom, I’m kinda busy right now-”

_ “Ben, you need to come home.” _

“Ma, I promise I’ll come by again soon, alright?”

_ “No, Ben, I mean I need you home  _ **_now_ ** _. Your-... it’s an emergency, I’d rather not have to tell you this over the phone.” _

Ben’s stomach dropped. Something was wrong. His mother loved talking on the phone, she’d called him nearly every weekend when he’d moved out, she talked on the phone daily when he was young, for her job; if she wanted to tell him something in person, it had to be serious.

“Mom, what happened?” He looked over at Rey, who was giving him a questioning look. When she saw he was distraught, she hopped off the hood of his car to walk over to him.

_ “Ben, it’s— it’s your father. Han had a heart attack.” _

The world seemed to slow. He could hear his mother speaking on the other line, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. His hands began to shake, and his phone fell out of his hand. He saw Rey rush over to pick it up, and he thought he heard her ask what was wrong, but he couldn't answer. He just stumbled over to his car, opened the passenger side door, and sat inside. The noise from outside dulled, and he sat in silence, trying to comprehend what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my mascara is legit running down my face because of this next chapter. Y'all are gonna hate me.


	13. He Knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one week, I must be creating angst. Oops.  
> Don't forget to follow:  
> [Tumblr](http://xandraqueen.tumblr.com) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/XandraQueen)

Rey watched Ben’s face as he dropped his phone. The mixture of shock and fear in his expression was enough to jar her out of her good mood. She hurried over as she saw him drop his phone, and picked it up for him.

“Ben? Are you okay?” When he didn’t answer her, she looked at the caller ID on the phone— it was his mother. Rey put the phone up to her ear. “Leia? It’s Rey, Ben dropped his phone. What happened?”

_ “It’s about his father, Rey. He’s in the hospital.” _ Rey had never imagined she’d hear Ben’s mother so choked up.

Rey swallowed, nodding as she followed Ben to his car. “Which one?”

Ben was zoned out when she climbed into the car; and she figured he needed her now more than ever. If she knew anything about him, she knew that he was going to shut down and he needed someone to help him get a grip. She was the same, in a way; if something like this had happened to her, she would need someone to support her, not to baby her. She climbed into the driver’s seat and buckled up, then looked at Ben.

“Keys?” 

It took him a second, but he pulled the car keys from his pocket and handed them to her. He didn’t say a thing, and as Rey started up the car, she took out her own phone, and called Finn. She explained that there was an emergency, and that he and Poe might have to get a ride home if she couldn’t pick them up later. Bless him, he understood completely, and asked that she keep them updated. Ben might not think so, but he had friends in Finn and Poe just as much as she did. 

The drive to the hospital was a long and quiet one. Ben stared out the window, not moving a finger, and Rey kept her eyes on the road, trying to get them there fast without going too far above the speed limit. 

Luke met them in the lobby, to lead them to the room where they were keeping Han. Ben ran ahead when he saw his mom, and she welcomed him into a tight hug. Chewie was standing by as well, giving Ben a pat on the shoulder as he clung to his mother.

“He’s stable, for now,” Luke explained to Rey, “The doctors think he’ll be okay, as long as there aren’t any complications.”

Rey swallowed the lump in her throat, not sure what to say. Really, she didn’t feel like she was allowed to say anything; she hardly knew this family. It had been six months since she’d first met Han, but she felt like she was an intruder here. An outsider. She stood at the door, watching as Leia and Chewie brought Ben in to see his father. Their family was small, but they had each other. Rey wasn’t a part of it, she ought to hang back and let them have their private moment.

She turned away, wiping her eyes. Luke gave her a curious look, but Rey shook her head.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be here.” She murmured.

“Why not? You came to support Ben, right?”

She nodded. “I did. I’ll be here for him through everything. I just… I feel like I’m… Not one of you, so I shouldn’t be—” She cut herself off when she heard Luke laugh. “What?”

“Rey,” He shook his head, smiling at her, “what on earth makes you think you’re not already a part of the family?”

“But… I—”

Luke smiled and took her shoulder, leading her into the room. “You became part of this family the moment you brought Ben home, my dear.” 

Her feet shuffled as she allowed herself to be let in. Leia raised her eyes to look at Rey, then shuffled around the end of Han’s hospital bed to welcome her into a warm hug. She felt tears streaming down her face as she hugged back, wiping them when they pulled away. Rey turned to hug Chewie next, and he mumbled something in his native language, hugging her so tightly her oxygen was cut off for a second. 

Ben turned to her next, pulling her into his side. Rey didn’t miss how red Ben’s eyes were, or the tears he was trying to ignore. Han smiled when he saw her, and she hated how worn-down and tired he looked.

“Hey there, kid,” He rasped, reaching out for Rey’s hand, “How’s it goin’?”

“Not bad,” She managed, her voice more choked than she wanted it to be.

“Dunno why everyone’s making such a big fuss,” Han grunted as he shifted his position in bed, “You all are acting like I’m dying or something.”

“Dad,” Ben said, “They told you to be careful about your heart.”

“Ben, I’m  _ fine _ .”

“Han,” Leia warned, “the doctors told me that if you have another heart attack, it could leave you in a coma— or worse.”

Han waved a hand at her. “So what? I’ve lived this long, through a boatload of terrifying stuff. My Air Force Training, Vietnam, Desert Storm— not to mention Disco.” Rey couldn’t help a small laugh, which made Han smile, “Not to mention, I got to witness someone actually wrangle my son and bring him home.”

Rey was amazed at the amount of composure Leia had. She took her husband’s hand and kissed it, holding it close to her. “All we’ve been through, and you think I’m going to let you go first? Not going to happen, laser brain.”

Han grinned as he closed his eyes. “Pardon my manners, Your Worship. Afraid I can’t let the lady go first this time.” 

“Dad...” The way Ben’s voice cracked made Rey’s heart shatter.

“Luke, you and Chewie are gonna be responsible for the Falcon from now on,” Han continued, “I don’t want ‘er gathering dust in the shop, you hear me? Someone’s gotta drive her.” Luke could only nod, leaning on the hospital bed’s bars.

“And Ben—”

“Don’t do this,” Ben croaked, shaking his head, “You’re not going anywhere. I have… I have too much I gotta say to you.”

“Me too, Ben,” Han smiled sadly at him, “You and I have never really been good with words or sharin’ our feelings or any of that junk, and I don’t see any reason to start now. But this girl,” he shook a finger at Rey, “This girl is the best one you’ll find in the entire universe, alright? Don’t do what I did. You hold onto her, tell her you love her every day, never let her go.” With this he looked over at Leia, “I know… I never said it enough, but… I do love you.”

Leia nodded, tears budding at her eyes as she cracked a smile. “I know.”

Han looked pointedly at Rey, “And if this boy gives you trouble, you give him hell right back. He’s got a thick head, but a big heart.”

“Just like his father.” Luke finally said.

Han reached up to place his hand on Ben’s cheek. Ben swallowed a sob and clutched at his father’s hand. “...I’m sorry, dad. For everything.”

“Me too, Ben.” He closed his eyes with a lingering smile on his face. 

The heart monitor beside the bed began to flatline, and Rey clung to Ben as he started to scream. Nurses rushed in, but they hardly paid them any attention. Chewie grabbed Ben by the arms, trying to haul him out of the room. Ben screamed and thrashed, tears flying off his cheeks as he fought to stay next to his father in his final moments. Rey helped Chewie bring Ben out of the room, Luke and Leia close behind them. Ben broke free after they closed the door, pounding his fists on the wall opposite the room. Rey tried to get him to calm down, but he picked up one of the chairs sitting against the wall and flung it down the hallway, startling a couple nurses. He broke down when Rey grabbed his shoulders, falling to his knees and crumpling into her arms like he was made of paper. 

“I didn’t—” Ben sobbed into her shoulder, “I di-didn’t tell him I love him—”

“Shhhh,” Rey stroked his hair, “He knew, Ben. He knew.”

They sat there in the middle of the hallway, with Ben clinging to her and her attempting to console him as best she could. She kissed his temple, holding him as tightly as her arms would let her.

“I’m here, Ben,” she whispered, “No matter what, I’ll be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, I was sobbing so hard writing this. Please don't hate me.
> 
> I lost my grandmother recently, and the funeral was so hard. I wasn't there when she passed, and I wish to every existing deity that I had been. The next chapter is based almost entirely on my personal experiences. I'll see how quickly I can get it up. Then happy times, I promise.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT (9/27/16): I had to reupload chapter 1 because someone reported me. Sorry for any inconveniences.


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